The Lion Awakens
by Jaenera Targaryen
Summary: Thirteen years have passed since the death of Emperor Reinhard the Invincible. Humanity has begin to rebuild, but tensions are high in the realm of the Golden Lion. But as new enemies emerge, and a bigger galaxy is discovered, it seems that the old adage may yet be true: only a common enemy can bring Humanity together.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Prologue

 _On June 22_ _nd_ _, Universal Calendar 799, Imperial Calender 490, New Imperial Calendar 1, Reinhard von Lohengramm was crowned as the first Emperor of the New Galactic Empire, becoming Emperor Reinhard the First. Known to later historians as Reinhard the Invincible, Reinhard had overthrown the five centuries-old Goldenbaum Dynasty to claim his throne, and in so doing reformed the corrupt and decadent Galactic Empire into the vigorous New Galactic Empire. By ending the First Alliance-Imperial War, which by then had raged for over a century and a half, Reinhard had set the stage for the reunification of Humanity._

 _This reunification would be borne out in February of New Imperial Calendar 2, Universal Calendar 800, when Reinhard annexed the former Free Planets Alliance into the empire. Republican remnants would continue to oppose the empire however, engaging them at the Battle of the Corridor, the Eleventh Battle of Iserlohn, and finally the Battle of Shiva. The Battle of Shiva would lead the republicans to making peace with the empire, surrendering Iserlohn Fortress to the empire in exchange for autonomy for the Ba'alat Starzone. On July 26_ _th_ _, New Imperial Calendar 3, Universal Calendar 801, Reinhard von Lohengramm was felled at the prime of his life, aged 25. He died not in battle as he had desired, or with old age surrounded by friends and family as he had hoped, but from disease. With his death, he was succeeded by his son Alexander Siegfried von Lohengramm, who became Emperor Alexander Siegfried the First, Second Emperor of the New Galactic Empire._

 _Thirteen years of relative peace have passed. Weary and decimated by nearly two centuries of war, the two halves of Humanity have uneasily cleaved together, slowly rebuilding and recovering as one. Nevertheless, leaders on both sides of the political divide, monarchists and republicans, fear their extremist compatriots would commit actions that could lead to a resumption of hostilities, and destroy the new beginning laid down over the past thirteen years._

 _However there has always been one truly-unifying force in Human history, one call that would always unite them: a common enemy. It is now June 28_ _th_ _, Universal Calendar 814, New Imperial Calendar 16._

* * *

 _New Galactic Empire, Sagittarius Territories, Frontier Starzone A-51, Shanxi Star System_

The research ships hung a full light-second from the artefact as they had for the past month, their sensors trying to make sense of the mysterious alien device. Aboard the lead ship _Franz Ferdinand_ , expedition head Doctor Henry Horst of Astrophysics was recording a summary of their findings on his personal journal.

"…based on the lack of obvious propulsion systems and interior access…" he wrote. "…we have dismissed the possibility of the artefact as some sort of alien vessel. We cannot however dismiss it as inert. The tower-like structures protruding vertically from the artefact are clearly sensor nodes of some sort, possibly communication even. This hypothesis is further proven when shortly after the military patrols broadcast radio signals specifically towards the device, it activated shortly afterwards…"

The doctor paused to consider, and after a few moments checking his notes continued. "…given the relatively-large amount of background radio radiation present in the universe, we have hypothesized that the device is programmed to ignore general radio broadcasts and to respond only to radio transmissions specifically aimed at itself…" the scientist continued to type. "…however this is only conjecture. The artefact may have been activated by the presence of the patrol…"

The doctor paused and then continued. "…note: a request should be sent to the Imperial Ministry of Science and Technology with regards to updating First Contact protocols. Given the political nature of the empire under the Goldenbaum Dynasty and the Free Planets Alliance's focus on catching up…" he typed. "…to say nothing of the needs of the First Alliance-Imperial War, the out-dated nature of First Contact protocols – dating back to the pre-Imperial Galactic Federation in fact – is understandable. Nevertheless, now that peace has returned – and will hopefully stay for a long while yet – exploration will pick up within a generation at the least. To that end…"

The doctor paused as the intercom rang. Saving his work, he opened the line on his terminal screen. "Yes, what is it?" he asked.

"Doctor…" the bridge officer answered. "…the bridge artefact has gone active."

Doctor Horst jolted. "I'll be there shortly." He said before cutting the line. Powering his terminal down, he rushed from his quarters to the bridge.

* * *

As he entered the bridge and walked over to the front of the main view-screen, he found the rest of the expedition's team leaders already present. Quantum Physicist Michael Crassus excitedly gestured to the screen as he approached. "I think we now know what it does." He said.

Horst raised an eyebrow, and the other scientist continued. "It's an FTL device of some kind." He said. "And what's more, it doesn't seem to make use of warp principles at all! Fascinating…a different form of FTL…"

"I'm more concerned at the ships that came from the device." The ship's captain retorted. The man pressed a button on his command chair and part of the view-screen zoomed in on six, alien-looking vessels holding position in a classic escort formation approximately five thousand kilometres from the expedition's ships.

"I don't know if any of you served in the military in the past…" the captain said. "…but from the way they move they're clearly warships of some sort. We should leave…NOW."

"Won't that provoke them though?" one of the scientists said. "It's not like we've anything to hide."

"I agree." Horst said. "We should send our First Contact package, and avoid making any aggressive…"

"Captain…!" one of the bridge crew suddenly said. "The device has gone active again."

Eyes turned to the screen, the great rings surrounding the glowing core of the artefact beginning to spin rapidly. And then with powerful surges of energy of a type unknown to Human sensors and with blinding flashes of light, many more ships appeared. Most of them were the gunship-analogue ships like before, but six of them were cruiser-analogues, at least in terms of size.

"We read eighteen additional gunship-analogues…" the sensor crewman said. "…along with six cruiser-analogues."

"Doctor…" the captain said, his voice now containing a note of urgency. The scientists however were looking at each at a loss. "…send all our records to Shanxi. Inform them to send it to Heinessen and the Imperial Capital at once."

"Captain, that's…!"

"Doctor this situation is clearly getting out of hand. Perhaps if the new arrivals were research ships or at least seem to be research ships, I might be more inclined to listen. But those are warships, given that they're beginning to adopt what looks like a siege formation. With that said, I'm only taking precautions. Communications officer, send the First Contact package immediately."

"Do we have scan data about the new arrivals?" Metallurgist Christina McKenzie asked.

"We do ma'am."

"Send it to Heinessen and the capital as well."

"Christina…?" Doctor Horst said.

"I served in the military as well Henry." She said. "And as the captain says, the way they're moving is clearly a fleet…"

"The device is going active!"

Eyes again turned to the screen, and then they widened at the ship that emerged. "H-how long..?" the captain asked.

"One kilometre…" the sensor officer replied, his voice awed and fearful at the same time. "By Odin, it's bigger than a carrier or a battleship. That's a flagship…! Wait…this is…I'm detecting energy readings, spiking along the six enemy cruisers' spines! It's a spinal weapon of some sort!"

"Send the First Contact package again!" Horst shouted in horror. "Quickly…!"

"Too late…!" the captain shouted. "Inform the colony: we're under attack! Inform the capital…!"

The alien cruisers fired, kinetic accelerators firing metallic slugs that blew the research ships apart. One managed to avoid getting hit by the first salvo, turning and running for the colony at full speed. As its warp drive began to spin up, a second barrage from an alien cruiser blew it apart.

With the research ships gone, anti-proton drives came to life, the Turians making for Shanxi at cruising speed.

* * *

"Has the hyperspace message been sent?" Captain Neil Rodriguez asked.

"Yes sir." Lieutenant Charles Linden replied, and the captain turned back to the alien ships on the sensor scope as they made for Shanxi. They only numbered thirty ships, an excessively-large patrol by Imperial standards, but without any ships of their own present the aliens might as well be a fleet of a hundred thousand ships.

"Taking their time aren't they…?" the captain said. "The alien bastards probably think they'll just roll over us. We'll see about that. ETA at their current speed and course…?"

"Sir, approximately forty-six standard hours…!"

The captain stroked his chin. "Forty-six hours…" he thought. "…very well, begin evacuation procedures immediately. Begin moving the citizens from the settlement to the countryside. Without any ships of our own, that's the best we can do to limit casualties in case of a nuclear attack or an orbital bombardment."

"Will they really…?"

"They blew up unarmed research ships." The captain interrupted. "I don't doubt they'll start lobbing nukes at the settlement if we push them hard enough. And that's just what we're going to do. I've no doubt reinforcements will come, and we won't shame the Emperor by not holding on as long as we can."

"Sir…!" the lieutenant said, throwing a salute. "As ordered, I will begin the evacuation."

Captain Rodriguez nodded. "I'll leave it to you, lieutenant." He said, and the lieutenant smartly turned and left to carry out his orders. The captain then gestured to Commander Anna Fedorovna. "Draw up a plan for maximum efficiency dispersion of our troops in the settlement."

"We're engaging in guerrilla warfare, sir?"

"Assuming they don't just bomb us from orbit…" the captain said. "…that's the only chance we have of holding out until reinforcements get here. And I'm willing to bet ten thousand marks that they outnumber us in terms of manpower as well."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Hurry it up commander we have less than two days until they get here."

The commander nodded, and then she too smartly turned and left, leaving the captain alone at the garrison's command post.

* * *

At the bridge of the dreadnought _Iron Resolve_ , flagship of the 45th Patrol of the Turian Navy, Admiral Tertius Lucius looked down on the world below. His adjutant arrived, and the admiral turned to face the younger officer. "Sir…" Lieutenant Garrus Vakarian said. "…all ships are in formation for orbital bombardment."

"Good…" the admiral said with a nod, and then he noticed the hidden unease in the lieutenant's eyes, though it didn't show on his face. "…what is it lieutenant? Speak what's on your mind."

"Sir, with all due respect, these aliens are clearly newcomers to the galaxy. There's no way they could have known about Citadel law forbidding the activation of dormant relays without knowing what's on the other side."

Lucius allowed Garrus to finish what he was saying before giving a response. "Lieutenant, the last time a dormant relay was activated, the Rachni Wars started. Our job is to make sure something like that _never_ happens again. It should be common sense not to poke around things without knowing what might happen. Ignorance is not an excuse."

"But sir…" Garrus persisted, only to be interrupted by his superior this time.

"Enough lieutenant…" The admiral said. "…we're the greatest military force in Citadel Space. We can handle some backwater primitives if they come after us."

The admiral raised his voice. "All ships…" he ordered. "…target the enemy garrison. Prepare to fire on my command." The view-screen shifted to show a live feed of the alien settlement, targeting markers zeroing in on what was clearly a military compound outside the settlement, opposite from a spaceport. "Fire…!"

" _For all the talk of avoiding a repeat of the Rachni Wars, we're really going out of our way to start a war._ " Garrus thought. He stayed silent though, watching along with the rest of the bridge as for the next several minutes, Turian orbital artillery levelled the alien military garrison.

"Sir…" the weapons officer asked. "…the target has been destroyed. Should we target the alien settlement?"

"Negative soldier…" Lucius responded. "…it is tempting I admit, but we should let Desolas and his men have their shot at glory. Inform the general that he may commence landing operations at will, and advise him to watch out for booby traps at the alien spaceport."

Less than a minute later, and another bridge officer spoke up. "Admiral, the general…" the officer said before pausing. "…he says to mind your own business…sir."

Lucius smiled, and Garrus did as well. They couldn't help it. "Yes, that sounds like Desolas alright." The admiral said. "Understood…send my apologies, and may the spirits watch over them."

" _Spirits watch over us all…_ " Garrus thought as a sense of foreboding fell over him. He stayed silent, and watched as the sensor icons of the landing craft began to descend to the planet below.

* * *

A/N

In Mass Effect frigates average a hundred metres in length. That's about twice the size of Imperial gunships, so I opted to call them large gunship-analogues. Mass Effect cruisers average around five hundred metres in length, making them cruiser-analogues given Imperial cruisers average six hundred metres in length. Mass Effect dreadnoughts though are a full kilometre in length on average, bigger than Imperial battleships or carriers (700 metres on average), slightly smaller than _Wilhelmina_ Class flagships, which are about 1.1 kilometres in length.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 1

 _New Galactic Empire, Fezzan Corridor, planet Fezzan, New Imperial City_

Two days had passed since an unidentified alien force had attacked the frontier colony of Shanxi. Thus far the Imperial government had kept this information from the general populace and the lower and mid-ranks of the bureaucracy, but excitement over First Contact had quickly given way to controlled panic and resolve that the aliens had apparently chosen the path of conflict against the empire…and to an increasingly-large amount of those in the know at present, with Humanity in general.

The Imperial Ministries of State and War had gone into crisis mode, drawing up plans for war and peace alike. Today, those plans would be presented to the Imperial Regent, Dowager Empress Hildegard von Lohengramm.

In a meeting room within the newly-completed Golden Fountain Palace, four men waited for the arrival of the Dowager Empress. One was Imperial Minister of State Karl Braque, formerly the Imperial Minister of Civil Affairs during the late Emperor Reinhard's reign. Much like her husband, the Dowager Empress had declined to name an Imperial Chancellor, holding most of the post's authority along with that of Imperial Regent, and deferring the rest to the Minister of State.

Apart from the State Minister, also present was the Minister of War, retired Fleet Admiral Ulrich Kessler, and former Chief Superintendent of the Imperial Military Police. He'd held the post for ten years now, succeeding retired Fleet Admiral Ernest Mecklinger who in turn had succeeded the late Fleet Admiral Paul von Oberstein.

Mecklinger had been responsible for reorganizing the Ministry of War alongside Oberstein's former adjutant, Rear Admiral Anton Fellner, making it less dependent on a darkly-genial mind like that possessed by the former Minister of War. The reorganization would be further refined by Kessler during his thus far decade-long tenure at the post. More importantly than that, by appointing retired flag officers to the post, Hilda had effectively set a precedent for both _civilian_ control of the military and ensuring the military would be overseen by someone with in-depth understanding of the military.

Also present in the meeting room was the Imperial Chief of Staff, Fleet Admiral Neidhart 'the Iron Shield' Muller, sporting a white fleet admiral's cape. He had succeeded retired Fleet Admiral August Samuel Wahlen eight years ago, and along with the Minister of War and the Space Fleet Commander successfully oversaw the partial demilitarization of the empire, all the while ensuring that demobilized officers and sailors would not be left destitute in the aftermath.

The Space Fleet Commander was the fourth man in the room, Fleet Admiral Fritz Josef Bittenfeld. He had succeeded retired Fleet Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeier at the same time Muller had succeeded Wahlen, and sported a black cape to the Iron Shield's own.

"Aliens eh?" Bittenfeld remarked as they waited for Hilda to arrive. "If not for the images the garrison commander sent, I'd say he'd been drinking."

"It's admittedly far-fetched, isn't it?" Muller agreed. "But the data sent by the garrison has been confirmed to be genuine, and of course, the information provided for us by the expedition of the Thernusen University."

Muller paused and turned to Kessler. "Speaking of which…" he began. "…the matter is still under wraps, isn't it?"

Kessler nodded and shared a glance with Karl Braque. "It is." He said. "According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, they've managed to get an agreement with the university administration to keep the matter quiet for now. So far, we've been able to get away with saying that we've lost contact with the expedition, and are currently investigating as we speak."

"The truth will have to come out eventually though." Braque said. "Furthermore, we at the State Ministry have come to an agreement with the Heinessen Autonomous Government for eventual joint monetary restitution to the families of those that died in the aliens' attack, along with compensation for destroyed ships and equipment. It's the least we can do for the dead."

"They might not have been soldiers…" Bittenfeld said in agreement. "…but they were on an officially-sponsored expedition by His Majesty's government. Getting killed on the frontier by foreign aggressors…in a way they were on the frontlines!"

Muller smiled at his colleague's fervour, as did Kessler. Further conversation came to a halt as the Dowager Empress arrived. Motherhood had changed Hilda, for one thing where she once favoured unisex attire she now dressed in feminine dresses, and had grown out her hair for another. With that said, the Dowager Empress still retained her sharp mind for both war and peace, the former of which had saved her husband's life at Vermillion, and the latter which led to her holding first the post of Executive Secretary to the Emperor and then Inspector-General of the Imperial Admiralty prior to their marriage.

Hilda took a seat, and the admirals and ministers – who had risen at her arrival – returned to their seats. "Gentlemen…" she said. "…this is an unexpected situation. I understand that thus far it has been kept quiet, but we cannot expect that to last indefinitely. I intend to give a public announcement as soon as possible, but by then, I expect that at the very least a proper response is underway, and _some_ reassuring results can be presented to the public."

Hilda paused and then continued. "I understand this may sound something like the rhetoric used by former Alliance politicians to maintain public faith in the government." She said. "However keep in mind that at present, the empire's internal stability is rather questionable, at least in certain places. Within the Orion Territories at least, we have greater margin for error than in the Sagittarius Territories."

Hilda's opening remarks were met with nods of agreement. "It cannot be denied that our empire is in places internally-unstable." Muller said. "This may sound underhanded, but victory would serve to inspire people's faith and trust in the empire's legitimacy as a government."

Hilda nodded her thanks to Muller, and then directed her attention to the ministers. "Ministers Braque and Kessler…" she said. "…if you would present your reports please."

Kessler turned to Braque, who rose to his feet. "Your Majesty…" he said. "…considering the small amount of information at our disposal, the short amount of time available, and the close cooperation between government offices in this situation, I will be presenting a condensed form of our reports and recommendations. However, we have provided individual copies of the reports and recommendations from the State Ministry, War, Science and Technology, the Thernusen University, and the Heinessen Autonomous Government."

Hilda glanced at the folders on her desk, and then nodded. Braque then pressed a button on the table in front of him, activating the wall-mounted projector. For the next five minutes he provided a condensed report from his ministry and others.

Firstly, he provided the latest hypothesis on the alien artefact discovered in Frontier Starzone A-51: an FTL device, the mechanisms of which are unknown, but one that made no use of any known warp principles, if at all. It was also constructed out of a super-strong alloy of unknown composition, but has defied all attempts at materials analysis, sampling, high-power scanning, and even uncovering its age.

From there he proceeded to the best sequence of events that the empire could piece together of the events unfolding in the Shanxi Star System. This was followed by a prediction of how long the garrison could expect to last.

The minister then turned to the point of the ignored First Contact transmissions. The minister then presented two arguments: one, their communications systems were incompatible with each other. And two, the transmissions were received but were ultimately ignored.

"With regards to both cases…" Braque said. "…we can conclude that we are clearly dealing with an aggressive and expansive civilization, given that their response to First Contact is not diplomacy, but war. Even if communication systems are incompatible, or the language barrier is too great to be overcome, no effort whatsoever was made to communicate, with the transmissions from the lost expedition making clear that from the moment of their arrival, they clearly expected to fight."

"It's such a small force though." Hilda pointed out. "No more than a patrol by our standards."

"That is indeed the case." Kessler answered. "For now we hypothesize that this is only a small scout force – even by our standards – or even a raiding party of some sort. We also cannot deny that alien races may suffer from the same issue Humanity has since before the Galactic Federation: pirates."

Hilda nodded. "And your proposed response…?" she asked.

"A large-scale deployment…" Braque said. "…if this is an expansionist power, then we will need to demonstrate that we are not to be belittled. Excessive indeed if these are just alien pirates, but it should also serve to demonstrate our commitment to defending our territory. However, we also propose attaching a diplomatic team drawn from political, scientific, and academic fields to the expeditionary force. Of course, they will remain subservient to the military command until after Shanxi has been liberated, and should further complications arise."

"But once Shanxi is liberated…" Hilda said. "…and if the aliens are willing to negotiate, then they will have diplomatic authority to speak for the empire."

"Yes Your Majesty."

Hilda thought for a few moments. "Is there a possibility that we're dealing with another Human civilization out there?" she asked. "It's not like the situation hasn't happened before."

"We considered the possibility." Kessler answered. He pressed a button and the projector shifted to an image of an alien ship. He zoomed in on what probably was the ship's name on its hull. "However based on this image and others, we have concluded that it matches no known historical alphabet or language syntax."

Kessler paused and continued, shifting to another set of images. Hilda recognized them as a collection of more common and less common – along with a few unusual designs – ships from Human history, ranging from the Earth-Sirius period all the way to the present day.

"We understand that the previous reasoning is somewhat subjective." Kessler continued. "However according to the Ministry of Science and Technology there are cultural trends when it comes to the construction of spaceships, to say nothing of the constraints of technology. The ships we've seen do not present a logical continuation of those factors. Again this is still subjective, and the possibility _is_ there, but it is highly-improbable."

"And even if that is the case…" Muller said. "…they did attack our colony without provocation. Even if we don't want war and conclude peace as soon as possible we will need to demonstrate the sovereignty of our empire over our territories."

"About that Admiral Muller…" Bittenfeld put in. "…did not His Majesty Reinhard proclaim that the Galactic Empire is the only legitimate government of Humanity…?"

"That is indeed the case…" Muller agreed. "…however our empire has only recently begun to rebuild from the devastation of the recent wars. With respect to His Majesty, I do not believe he'd want to burden Humanity so soon after it has tasted peace. As such, I would dare to interpret the Winter Roses Decree as applying only to the territories of the Galactic Empire and the former Free Planets Alliance."

Bittenfeld sat back with crossed arms, and Hilda nodded. "I agree with what Admiral Muller has said." She said. "We cannot plunge Humanity into war so soon after having a brief taste of peace. If anything it would only undermine everything His Majesty Reinhard worked to achieve for the sake of peace and unity. We will demonstrate our sovereignty. But we will not enter into a war of aggression, and will seek peace with honour no matter what."

The ministers and admiral nodded at her words, and with another nod from her Braque retook his seat. Hilda spent the next two minutes perusing her reports. "The Black Lancers…" she said. "…the Brauhitch Fleet…the Mauser Fleet…approximately sixty thousand ships and five hundred thousand men…"

Hilda looked towards Bittenfeld. "Furthermore…" she said. "…High Admiral Bayerlein's fleet of twenty-five thousand ships will be placed on alert nearby as a strategic reserve. Also the Space Fleet Commander himself will have overall command."

"With respect Your Majesty…" Bittenfeld said. "…at the risk of sounding arrogant, I believe I am best suited for commanding such a 'shock and awe' operation. Of course, I will defer to the State Ministry's diplomatic team when it comes to negotiations, and as a soldier of the empire, I will remain within the strategic limitations set out in the operational plan."

"Plans are all well and good…" Hilda said, turning back to the proposed plan before her. "…but in this situation the field commander will need to be able to react to changing circumstances decisively and intelligently."

Bittenfeld looked at a loss for a moment, but then Hilda smiled at him. "But I have heard that before the Battle of Vermillion you proposed a strike on the Alliance capital and forcing Yang Wen-li's surrender, did you not admiral?" she said. "That was ultimately what then-High Admirals Reuenthal and Mittermeier did to win the war. No, I don't doubt the Space Fleet Commander will be capable of overseeing this operation."

"I thank you for your confidence in my abilities!" Bittenfeld said, rising and giving a bow. Hilda nodded and the admiral retook his seat. Hilda perused the proposed plans a bit longer before giving a nod.

"Assuming the operation will be approved today…" she said. "…when can you depart admiral?"

"Your Majesty, short of launch preparations once the proposal was completed I had the fleets involved commence preparations." Bittenfeld answered. "Apart from the Bayerlein Fleet, my fleets can depart as early as tomorrow morning."

"The Bayerlein Fleet is the strategic reserve for this operation." Hilda said. "There's no need for them to rush. Very well, Admiral Bittenfeld I will approve this operation. Minister Braque, assemble your diplomatic team. If they cannot accompany Admiral Bittenfeld, then I want them to be ready to depart with the Bayerlein Fleet."

"Yes Your Majesty."

* * *

The moment the alien landing ships had been spotted on the scopes, a small force of Imperial soldiers in the evacuated spaceport immediately began releasing Seffle Particles within the spaceport facilities. They didn't have much, not enough to cover the entire spaceport, and it would leave the garrison without any more, but Captain Rodriguez felt it would do as a sharp slap to open the garrison's resistance against the invaders.

They did have enough for the building complex, with improvised detonators set to detonate the moment an enemy stepped foot inside a building.

The aliens landed within fifteen minutes of their craft appearing on the scopes. As might be expected of a landing force, their first goal – accomplished within another fifteen minutes – was to establish a secure perimeter. No sign of the defenders or indeed any active technology was detected by the aliens.

Wary of a trap, the aliens didn't move in at once, waiting instead for the arrival of an engineering team to sweep the complex for explosives. It was a prudent tactic, but one the Imperials had expected. The moment the first engineer set foot inside the building, his armoured suit's sensors detecting high amounts of an unknown chemical in the air, a detonator was set off.

It wasn't much really, just a tripwire attached directly to a door. All it did was cause an electrical spark in a deliberately-sabotaged electrical conduit. But it was enough to detonate the Seffle Particles saturating the air.

The spaceport lobby was the first to explode, followed by a chain of explosions that blew the spaceport's structures apart. Aliens, standing or in cover, were either sent flying by the shockwaves or driven to ground. Others were killed as debris, some as big as trucks or even larger, were sent flying at high speed.

A number of alien spacecraft were also destroyed or damaged, the aliens not quite breaking but still thrown into chaos by the explosions. To their credit, they quickly rallied, settling into a defensive posture as though expecting a counterattack to be launched to follow-up the explosions.

Only no attack came. The aliens quickly realized this, and cautiously moved to recover the dead and the injured, and to call in reinforcements and assistance.

More importantly though, the spaceport – which the aliens had been counting on to use as a base of operations on the planet – had been destroyed (or its facilities at least), and the landing fields were blocked by debris, wreckage, and damaged craft.

Considering that the Imperials' goal was to delay the enemy until reinforcements arrived, then this was a fine opening move, as the spaceport couldn't be used for landings until after the fields had been cleared.

Oh the enemy could still land on undeveloped areas nearby and around the settlement, but that wouldn't be nearly as easy to deploy on and from as opposed to the wide and well-constructed road that led from the spaceport to the settlement.

* * *

"Impressive…" General Desolas Arterius whispered. He was standing in the cabin of his command craft holding position high in the planet's atmosphere, watching through a screen as the spaceport exploded, and reports began flooding in. "…so they plan to delay us by forcing us to clear the landing area? Not only that, but they denied us the use of any command and control capabilities a spaceport – no matter how primitive this species might be – possesses. Not bad at all…"

"Still, do they really have a chance of winning?" First Lieutenant Saren Arterius asked.

"Them…? Unlikely…" Desolas replied. "…given their lack of assets in space, most likely this is a frontier world, with only token ground forces. However, the enemy _can_ avoid losing, drawing us in until they can be reinforced. No, that's probably what they're planning. Contact the _Iron Resolve_ , and recommend Admiral Lucius ask for reinforcements. Even if the enemy didn't manage to send a call for help, it's only a matter of time before they realize something's wrong once they lose contact with their colony. They'll either send someone to investigate who'll find us before calling for help, or we'll destroy them. But if the investigators don't return…"

"…then the aliens will realize something _has_ really gone wrong, and send reinforcements." Saren said with a nod. "I see. Still, I don't see if we really need reinforcements. Even with only thirty ships, the _Iron Resolve_ alone…"

"Saren…" Desolas interrupted.

"Sir…my apologies: it's not my place to question your judgment."

"No it isn't." Desolas said, this time with a small smile. "However we only have thirty ships, even if one of them is a dreadnought. Assuming the worst and tech levels are equal – much like with the Rachni – then a patrol wouldn't last long against a reinforcement _fleet_."

"Prudent…" Saren said with a nod. "…I see your point general. It seems that I really do still have much to learn."

"And it credits you that you realize that Saren."

Desolas turned back to the screen. His expression and eyes were neutral, but personally he felt a sense of unease. Oh he agreed with Lucius that ignorance was _not_ an excuse, and that this new alien race was better off as a Turian protectorate after having been brought to compliance with galactic law…

…but still: he felt uneasy. And he knew the reason why. They – he and Lucius though he only realized it in hindsight – were assuming that the aliens were more primitive than the Turians. Now if only the same could be said about the Rachni, or even the Turians themselves when the desperate Council made contact with them during the Krogan Rebellions.

"Colonel Drusus…" Desolas said. "…oversee the landing operations. I'll speak with the admiral personally."

"Yes sir."

" _We're overconfident._ " Desolas thought as he made for the command-level communications station. " _It's a pity I only realized that when the aliens successfully-delayed our landings instead of simply being overrun in a matter of days after an unopposed landing. At this point all I can do is hope for the best…and prepare for the worst._ "

* * *

It only took a day for the Turian engineering teams to prepare the landing zone, after which the heavy landers carrying General Arterius' troops could begin disembarking. From there it was a matter of hours before mechanized forces set up a perimeter around the settlement, and began a cautious advance inwards.

One squad of Turians advanced in a dispersed formation around an APC, cautiously making their way down the street. The buildings on either side of the street were two or three-story affairs of white-painted stone and red-tiled roofs. Some of the upper windows boasted flower beds on hangings, and the windows were wood and glass affairs. Along with the stone-paved roads reminiscent of rural (and more traditional even by Turian standards) settlements in the heartland of the Hierarchy, it gave a decidedly-rustic feeling to the Turians.

The lack of visible technology was disconcerting though…as was the complete silence and lack of signs of life. The Turians moved cautiously, suspecting the enemy to be lying in wait. They didn't have to wait long.

With a muffled boom, the ground buckled and a section of road collapsed underground, soldiers and the APC falling into the crater. A rocket zoomed down, hitting the top of the APC. The shields only partly-withstood the explosion, but it was still enough to disable the turret.

Most of the soldiers managed to roll clear of the collapsed street, only to come under fire from a shocking fusillade of beams. One shot usually had enough power to collapse their shields, the succeeding blasts blowing chunks off of heavier armour sections such as the chest, or burning through thinner layers and maiming or outright blowing away limbs and other body parts.

The Turians – the professional soldiers that they were – quickly recovered from the confusion. Suppressive fire hammered the enemy positions, and a missile launcher was loaded and fired at a nearby building. As debris flew, the enemy fire ceased. After waiting for several moments, the squad leader ordered fire teams to secure the surrounding buildings.

In one of them they found the mangled body of a dead alien, looking a lot like a pale-skinned Asari with a patch of fur on his head. The alien wore blue and white-patterned fatigues, clearly for camouflage purposes, along with a metallic helmet. A trail of red blood indicated they'd killed or seriously hurt another one of the aliens, though they'd been evacuated along with their fellow soldiers.

The squad leader noted it with a certain degree of respect. They knew when and where to strike, and when to retreat. They treated their comrades properly, and he didn't doubt that if this soldier's body were in better condition – the alien had most of his torso blown away – they'd have taken it away for burial.

"Secure that weapon…or rather, what's left of it." He ordered while pointing at the wrecked energy rife the alien had been armed with. The alien didn't appear to have been equipped with shields. And while that would normally be a sign of inferior outfitting, in this case given that they _were_ armed with energy weapons – enough to take down shields and blow away limbs in one hit – to assume that would be a terrible mistake.

Across the settlement such skirmishes erupted as the Asari-like aliens engaged the Turians. In one case, a Turian squad lost three of their own when two fire-teams caught their rear-guard in crossfire from two opposite alleyways with heavy weapons. The APC reversed, its turret traversing to aim down one alley.

Two rockets hit it one after another from either side with the first one collapsing the shields and rocking the vehicle. The second one turned the APC to a smoking wreck. A barrage of beams rained down from the surrounding buildings and inflicted more losses on the Turians, who quickly recovered and returned fire. In this case though, the aliens didn't retreat, even when a couple of their own went down.

Rockets soared down, exploding in the midst of the already-thin Turian lines. As they reeled, the aliens kept up the fire, letting up only when the last Turian was dead. Then they retreated, moving to another fire zone to continue to engage the enemy.

* * *

A fleet dispatch was always an awe-inspiring sight, tens of thousands of ships rising to the skies in perfect synchronization with each other. Though the naval yard was off-limits to civilians, plenty were gathered in the vicinity to see the Imperial fleets launch on what was officially a large-scale fleet exercise.

Others more watched from other vantage points across the New Imperial City, or in the case of the thirteen year-old Emperor, his mother, and their guards, they watched from the sheltered review stand. Muller was present, along with retired Fleet Admiral Mittermeier and his family. Felix Mittermeier smiled at his friend, waving at him. Despite the breach in protocol, Alexander Siegfried or as his friends called him 'Alex' waved back.

Aboard his refitted flagship _Konigs Tiger_ , Fleet Admiral Bittenfeld was in high spirits. It was the first time in over a decade that he'd be going to war, and the old warhorse was eager to cross swords with the enemy. He smiled as he addressed his wing commanders over the vid-lines.

"Listen up…" he said with crossed arms. "…His Majesty's counting on us to kick those trespassers off his lawn, so let's not disappoint him. Now let's go, and follow the song of the Valkyries to the battlefield!"

 _Universal Calendar 814, New Imperial Calendar 16, Imperial standard calendar July 1_ _st_ _, the Black Lancers, the Brauhitch Fleet, and the Mauser Fleet left Imperial Capital Fezzan under the command of Fleet Admiral Fritz Josef Bittenfeld. Their destination: Shanxi._

* * *

A/N

It's a fairly-straightforward chapter, so I don't really have anything to explain here.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 2

Almost a month had passed since the ground battle for Shanxi had begun. Almost half of that, six days in all, had been spent in a vicious, street-to-street battle inside Shanxi Settlement, the Imperials laying down their lives in a fighting retreat that would bloody both sides and leave the settlement in ruins. Another day and most of a night were spent by the surviving members of the garrison to break out of the encirclement, losing most of their heavy vehicles in the process.

It had taken another week for the dispersed – in order to lessen the effect of an orbital bombardment – and largely on-foot Imperial forces to gather at the rendezvous point, located in the mountains several kilometres to the north of the city. Many who were confirmed to have escaped the settlement never arrived, either intercepted by enemy mobile forces or destroyed by orbital bombardment.

The Imperials barely had two days to entrench themselves before the first Turian attack was launched. The attackers were mounted, and well-supported by artillery. Unfortunately for them, the Imperial were entrenched in mountainous and forested terrain, and had also deployed battlefield jammers. The former greatly impeded the utility of fighting vehicles, while the latter greatly impeded the use of artillery.

For one thing, it prevented the Turians from using their ships' guns, the power of their spinal guns too powerful to be used in such close fighting, not without risking the lives of their men on the front line.

The Turians could still use their field artillery of course, though they now had to depend on front-line directors as opposed to fire-direction radar to aim their guns. The Imperials retaliated in kind, Captain Rodriguez finally deploying his tracked missile vehicles, which he'd sent out of the settlement before the battle had begun, fully-intending to hold his last stand in an as advantageous position as possible.

The first Turian attack had bogged-down with Imperial forces giving way and retreating further into the mountainous terrain all the while resisting-fiercely. Additional forces had then savaged the Turian flanks, inflicting heavy losses and forcing them to retreat, all the while under constant artillery attack.

The Turians had counterattacked with their own artillery, but counter-battery fire without precise fire-direction was of limited effect against mobile forces, even slowed down as they were by the terrain.

From this it became clear to both sides that in the artillery battle, the Imperials held a slight advantage. Advances in ECM and ECCM technology had rendered precision weapons obsolete since the 21st Century of the old Gregorian Calendar and development of that field had only continued to advance since. Whether it was fighting in space or on the ground, Imperial – or as many Imperial soldiers had begun to think _Human_ – soldiers fully expected a significant lack of precision as a result of such developments.

This was not the case for the Turians though. The Turians, having never encountered interference on such a scale – even the most powerful sensors on their ships were unable to accurately aim through the interference to their shocked surprise – before, were discovering to their chagrin that they were over-dependent on technology.

That was not to say that they couldn't use their artillery. Their field guns could be aimed and fired manually, and aiming was a matter of scaling-up core spherical trigonometry and other mathematics. Even so, their lack of experience in such fighting put them at a disadvantage against the Imperials. To their credit though, the gap had closed (to an extent) within a week of the first battle as Turian artillery crews grew accustomed to this new – or rather reverted – way of fighting an artillery battle.

Between line soldiers however, the battle was more equal. Imperial beam rifles had rendered Turian shields useless, the particle beams collapsing them in a single shot. Thicker armour sections could withstand a few hits, but once they collapsed – or the beams struck thinner section of armour – then the beams could blow limbs clear.

The Turians would also soon realize the fallacy of beam weapons cauterizing the wounds they caused. On the contrary, if anything they caused just as much bleeding as projectile weapons did.

The Imperials on their part were quickly shaken out of the assumption that with their enemies making use of projectile – if of unfamiliar design and mechanics – weapons, they would have an advantage with their individual beam weapons. They were wrong. Lacking kinetic barriers or heavy armour, the Turian kinetic accelerators gave the Imperials as much as the latter gave to the Turians.

And the Turians started out with a larger force, General Arterius' legion numbering an estimated five thousand against Captain Rodriguez's regiment of an estimated one thousand. Granted, that didn't include specialist forces, and the latter were bolstered by militia volunteers from the colonists (retired veterans from the old Free Planets Defence Force who rallied to help the Imperials defending _their_ world), but still: the Turians had a clear numerical advantage.

But the Imperials wouldn't give up. Even as the trench war stretched out over a week and more, they had to hold out, until reinforcements could come. It had been almost a month after all, and prior to their destruction the computers in the garrison base had predicted based on known astral-navigational data that it would take at least that long for a reinforcement fleet to arrive from the Imperial Capital.

They just had to hold out a little longer.

* * *

The sharp cracking of displaced air caused by particle beam fire and the high-pitched whine of Turian rifles filled the air as Turian and Imperial soldiers fought over position November-Three. Both sides had gone to cover, trading fire and sending bursts of dirt and sprays of blood flying into the air.

High-pitched whining filled the air, and moments later Turian artillery shells slammed into the Imperial lines. Bodies and body parts flew through the air with rock and dirt, the shock of the artillery barrage causing the Imperials' fire to falter.

A Turian officer gestured, and with wild shouts the Turians charged the Imperials, moving from cover to cover while continuing to fire. Fast cracking filled the air as flanking beam machine guns – held quiet for such an eventuality – opened up to their flanks.

Turians fell, bleeding and screaming, to the ground. Other soldiers went to ground, their officer gesturing to his NCOs. A particle beam lanced through the air, the sniper's fire passing through the Turian's shields as though they weren't there – unsurprising considering the improved beam cohesion of a sniper rifle – and blew the Turian's head apart like an overripe melon.

The Turians broke, scrambling back and taking fire from behind them. Imperial officers struggled to maintain order, the Imperials moving back just in time to avoid a Turian saturation barrage launched in retaliation.

Elsewhere along the lines, Turian landing craft flew low, bay doors open and deploying paratroopers over a heavily-contested section of the line. White parachutes billowing behind them, the Turians sailed down before landing in practiced crouches, SMGs rising to seek out targets.

Only, they weren't where they expected to be. They were supposed to land _behind_ enemy lines, not on _top_. Murderous crossfires killed many of the paratroopers, though in other cases, decisive action by the Turian troops in front during moments of confusion caused by Imperial soldiers engaging the enemies in their midst allowed the Turians to overrun key positions.

The Imperial lines fractured, the Turian company commanders ordering fresh troops to exploit the breakthrough. As long-range observers spotted fresh troops moving in, signal flares were launched, and Imperial forces immediately withdrew.

Turian officers ordered their men to stand fast, and to consolidate. This caused confusion to erupt as officers further to the rear ordered them to advance, and stick to the enemy rear to prevent the enemy from using their artillery. Though the Turians quickly recovered, it was too late, as Imperial missile fire raked the Turian lines with deadly effect.

Turian artillery returned fire, with only moderate effect as the Imperial artillery had begun to move immediately after they launched their missiles. The Imperials returned fire, but the Turian guns were already moving to alternate positions once they had finished firing.

As the artillery duelled in the distance, Imperial forces counterattacked, the Turians vengefully holding and turning the ground battle into a murderous melee. At such close range ranged weapons were of limited effect, with rifles being turned into clubs or soldiers resorted to hand-to-hand with blades or rocks or even their bare fists.

By the time officers on both sides restored order, infantry forces along the section of line had been bled heavily, forcing both sides to retreat, leaving the hill a no-man's land.

On another section of the line, Turians fought their way up a ravaged slope dominated by several sandbagged-emplacements. The burning wreckage of wrecked aircraft and vehicles littered the slope, as did bodies and weapons from both sides.

Brightly-pulsing particle fire raked the Turian lines from rifles and machine guns above, shields collapsing and blue blood spraying out. Even so the Turians continued to advance doggedly, using broken wrecks and rocks for cover.

Thunderous roars filled the air as Turian gunships roared overhead, rocket pods blazing as they ripped into the Imperial lines. The torrent of fire weakened, and the Turians charged. Beam machine guns from surviving positions pursued the retreating gunships.

Two were hit. One's engines spluttered but held, the gunship trailing smoke behind it. The other was not so lucky, its engines exploding and sending the machine plummeting to the ground in a ball of fire.

Beams raked the advancing Turians, but one squad closed enough to throw a grenade into the most forward emplacement. The explosion cleared it out, the squad advancing towards the next one as the Imperials abandoned their position. One Imperial soldier fired from the hip as he retreated, and striking a Turian in the torso.

The armour failed and the Turian fell screaming. The rest of the squad either returned fire or moved to help, and then missiles were falling around them. Orders were shouted, and the Turians fell back down the slope. The whining of shells filled the air as Turian artillery pummelled the Imperial lines in return.

Undeterred, Imperial soldiers pushed forward, and reclaimed their lost positions. It would be less than an hour before another Turian artillery barrage heralded another attack, and resuming the bloody cycle.

* * *

Admiral Lucius entered the tech bay set aside for the use of the technicians and engineers examining the captured Imperial weapons. One of the guards saluted him as he approached, and he nodded in response.

One of the engineers approached and saluted. "At ease." The admiral said, and the engineer relaxed. "And…?"

"Sir…" the engineer said, gesturing to a nearby terminal, the admiral and his adjutant following. "…well first of all we've managed to identify the type of weapon the aliens are using. Or rather, the actual composition of the beams they're using. We learned it's a particle beam weapon early on, but we've only recently confirmed that it is in fact an electron-beam weapon."

"An electron-beam…?" Lucius echoed, and the engineer nodded. "Wouldn't a sufficiently-powerful magnetic field disrupt such a thing?"

"We assumed that to be the case too." The engineer agreed while pulling up some data on the terminal. "However through live-fire testing of captured weapons, we've managed to measure the coherency of the beam. I won't weigh you down with the details, but a magnetic field that could disrupt the beams would need a battlefield generator so big as to be impractical."

"Also…" the admiral said. "…it would have an adverse effect on anything electrical nearby, wouldn't it?"

"Yes sir."

"I see." Lucius said with a thoughtful nod. "What about the weapon itself?"

"Unfortunately…" the engineer said. "…while we have understood the beam itself and have a working theory as to how it's produced, making the jump from theory to practice is much more difficult. I'm sorry to say sir but I doubt our battlefield facilities will be sufficient to do more than get a good start on understanding and eventually replicating these rifles."

"I see." Lucius said. "I expected as much, though do what you can."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

"Is there anything else soldier?"

"Yes sir." The engineer said, touching the terminal a few times. "We suspected this earlier, but given the aliens' impressive ECM and ECCM, and the small amounts of Element Zero actually present in most weapons, armour, and equipment, that our sensor scans couldn't pick up any hint of Element Zero the probability was rather low. However based on our study of this weapon, and of recovered debris from the alien vessels near the relay, we can find no trace whatsoever of Element Zero."

The admiral stared for a moment. "You're saying then…" he finally said. "…that the aliens' technology is not based on Element Zero…? That's impossible. All spacefaring civilizations depend on Element Zero, otherwise FTL travel and communications would be impossible."

"That is the orthodox position." The engineer conceded uncomfortably. "We'd have to examine an intact alien vessel to be sure, but even if the ships were small, if they did have Element Zero cores then there should have been some left in space, and scattered among the debris."

"Unless of course they weren't FTL-capable…" Garrus put in, playing the devil's advocate. Privately, the sense of foreboding that had held him for nearly a month now made him agree with the engineer: the aliens' technology wasn't based on Element Zero. They were dealing with complete unknowns here.

That a mere frontier garrison was holding up an entire legion made it worse. No one had done that, not since the Krogan Rebellions.

 _Spirits…what have we gotten ourselves into?_

The only comforting thing over the past month was the admiral agreeing – grudgingly – to General Arterius' prudent proposal of asking for additional ships. And even then the admiral didn't do it because he – like the general and Garrus – suspected there was more to the aliens than they assumed, but because it would put the Hierarchy in a better position or allow it to deploy quicker once they needed to advance further into the aliens' territory.

 _Two hundred ships…even with only one dreadnought, that's a solid number. If things go wrong and we're dealing with something like the Rachni or the Krogan, that should be enough for a fighting retreat back to the relay._

 _I hope._

Garrus blinked and returned to the conversation. The engineer _had_ conceded that Garrus had made a good point, and was now discussing the alien weapons' power source.

"…the Hierarchy and other organizations…" the engineer was saying. "…both government and otherwise have investigated the possibility of using particle beam weapons in the past. However even with the use of mass effect fields to assist in focusing and accelerating the particles…"

"It was deemed to be impractical, at least in terms of the energy needed." The admiral concluded.

"Yes sir." The engineer confirmed. "You'd need a ridiculously-big power source, possibly backpack-mounted, but the weight would be an issue on the battlefield."

"Interesting…" the admiral said, gazing at the energy rifle on a nearby specimen tray with new eyes. "…if we can replicate the technology, it's certain to be of great interest to the Hierarchy. And not just weapons technology is it now engineer?"

"No sir." The engineer agreed. "The energy storage capacity of this power cell alone is incredible. I foresee a great many advances in materials science and technology alone coming from study of this alone."

"And the Hierarchy will profit greatly from it." Lucius said with a smile. Of course the Hierarchy _would_ continue to support the Council. However by reducing their dependency on Element Zero even by a small fraction, the power and influence of the Asari – who dominated the Element Zero market – in the galaxy could be reduced, allowing for a _more equal_ relationship between them and the Hierarchy.

Garrus said nothing, though he quickly divined the thoughts going through his superior's mind. " _That assumes of course…_ " he thought. " _…that we get the opportunity to do so…because if General Arterius is right, then we might not have even that…_ "

He stayed silent, listening as the engineer explained how they'd managed to complete a basic translation program for the aliens' – Humans that's what they called themselves – language. Based on captured civilian computers and written materials, the syntax would need further refining, but it was a working system.

"Finally…" the admiral said. "…we can finally start interrogating some prisoners. Or Desolas can get started at least."

From what they knew, the general had managed to capture a number of enemy soldiers along with some civilians apparently hiding out in the countryside since their invasion began.

 _Interrogation…while I hope they can convince the admiral to see reason, I also hope the general or his interrogators won't go too far either. We don't need mistreated prisoners or worse, civilians, to set a store of bad blood in the future, more than this would start._

* * *

Galactic Imperial Commander Anna Fedorovna lay prone in the grass, watching through night-vision goggles the aliens' forward base of operations. With three squads of troops under her command, she was tasked with disrupting the enemy's operations and knocking out as much of their atmospheric gunship support as possible.

Attrition was taking its toll on the Imperial forces, and with supplies running low they needed to delay the enemy even further if they were to hold out until reinforcements arrive.

" _That's assuming they arrive at all._ " Anna thought darkly before shaking her head. " _No, I mustn't think like that. My sweet little girl…I'll be back, I promise. I know I will. The Lohengramm aren't like the Goldenbaum. They'll send help, and they'll be here soon. We just have to hold out until then._ "

The commander stayed prone, waiting for the signal to come. They'd deployed three days ago, sneaking through enemy lines at night and thence behind enemy lines to their target. They'd watched and timed the rotation of guard shifts, the moving of supplies, wounded, and reinforcements to and from the front lines, and identified key targets.

A convoy of wounded would be passing soon. In fact, she could see the alien medevac vehicles and their escorts passing down the road the alien engineers had built with surprising speed.

She watched them pass by, and then a series of optical signals flashed to her from across the street. She signalled back, and with hand signals directed her men towards the compound.

The Imperials had mined the road, using magnetic mines with timed detonators. Ten minutes, to give time for the aliens to pass through their security checkpoint and get to the offloading area. It would also give time for the Imperials to move into position.

The minutes ticked by, until finally a series of explosions erupted from inside the alien base. As alarms began to scream, and troops and vehicles began to move, a single bright beam of blue cut through the night air towards the control tower.

Glass and distance took their toll, but the beam was still enough to kill an alien operator. Outraged by the deaths of their personnel, the Turian first-response teams rushed to the front and moved to pursue what they believed to be a fleeing raiding party.

At the same time, Anna and her men cut their way through the fence, and made their way across the rear of the compound from shadow to shadow. Taking cover behind an outhouse, she used hand signals to assign tasks, and the team spread out.

Anna's team made for the fuel tanks.

Team two made for the power generators.

Team three made for the gunship park.

* * *

General Desolas Arterius' first and only confirmation of the heavy suspicion that his first-response teams were getting lured away was the gunfire erupting from the rear, near the power generators. He didn't need a second one.

"Damn it…!" he swore. "Get those men back in here! And I want the names of their unit commanders! Falling for such an obvious distraction, how shameful…!"

All around him soldiers were mounting up in armoured vehicles, and ignoring the urging of his staff he decided to attach himself and his command squad to engage the enemy raiders. These Humans – if the translation was to be trusted – were truly to be respected. A small frontier garrison had managed to hold out for over a month against a full legion.

That hadn't happened since the Krogan Rebellions. And more than that, Human fighters weren't warriors like the Asari or the Krogan, they were _soldiers_. Even if they had killed Desolas' men, such was war.

" _They might be in violation of galactic law…_ " Desolas thought as they rumbled along. " _…and whether or not they aren't just another ignorant, new race to be assimilated into the Hierarchy, they've definitely earned my respect._ "

A massive explosion in the distance shook the air, and the general glanced sharply in its direction. More explosions followed as ammo caches were set-off by burning fuel. "Damn it…" he swore. "…well that explosion might have taken out at least some of the Humans. Hurry and put those fires out!"

Communications immediately relayed the order, as additional explosions rocked the base. Desolas flexed his talons and champed more than a bit, the direction telling him that the enemy raiders had managed to reach and destroy at least _some_ of his gunships.

Eventually he arrived at where the guards around the power generators and their reinforcements were engaging Human raiders. The Humans were dug in inside an outbuilding, but they were clearly surrounded and had no chance of escaping or achieving their goal of knocking out the power generators.

Desolas fought down his anger at the sight of Turian corpses lying on the ground, and knew that others more were across his base. This was war after all, and he took cold comfort at the sight of Human corpses on the ground as well. His men were giving as well as they got.

"Cease fire…!" he ordered, and scowled as his command squad looked at him in surprise. "I said cease fire damn it!"

As per their general's orders, the Turians ceased fire. Moments later the Humans ceased fire as well, most likely in surprise that the shooting had stopped. "Now then…" Desolas said. "…let's test this new Human-language translator."

The program was checked, and then the general connected his personal communicator to the command APC's loudspeaker. "Human soldiers…" he began. "…you have fought bravely, seeking to fulfil your duty despite overwhelming odds. I salute your courage and dedication, but any further violence and bloodshed is meaningless. You cannot destroy the power generators. You cannot escape. Surrender and I give my word as a soldier to provide you with fair and just treatment."

The general cut the link, and turned to his staff. "Now…" he said. "…let's give them a chance to think about it."

* * *

"What do you think?" one of the five remaining Imperial soldiers asked.

"Checkmate…" one of the others said. "…we're fucked."

"Yeah, but surrendering doesn't suit me." The highest-ranking among them – a leading spaceman – asked. "And let's get real, can we really trust them? I don't know how they learned to speak Galactic Standard, but just because they speak Human, it still doesn't make them Human."

The other soldiers started looking at each other. Outside, the alien spoke through a loudspeaker again. "Do you think the commander will come for us?" the youngest of the soldiers asked.

"No…" the leading spaceman replied. "…we're cut off, and this is a commando raid to boot. The mission is to go in, wreck the enemy's hardware, munitions, and fuel, and get out. It doesn't say anything about rescuing each other if we get cut off."

"B-but…"

"I know." The leading spaceman said with a sigh. "It's ironic, given that we're supposed to be fighting until reinforcements get to this planet from the empire, but we're not going to be reinforced ourselves. But then again that's war, for the sake of victory some people have to be sacrificed."

Again the other soldiers looked at each other. "Look at it this way…" the leading spaceman said as he reloaded his rifle with a fresh energy pack. "…we drew the enemy towards us. If the commander helps us, then the rest of the squads – more than the five of us – will probably get killed too, and that means fewer men to continue to fight. And worse, what if the commander gets captured?"

That provoked whispering among the other soldiers, and the leading spaceman got to his feet before taking a deep breath. "It's up to you what you want to do here and now." He said as the alien outside spoke up again. "But I'm not going to end up at the mercy of aliens. And I'm no traitor."

The other soldiers looked at each other, and then slowly got to their feet. "We're going to die." One of them said wistfully. "But just like you sir, we're no traitors."

The Imperials looked at each other, and after reloading their rifles turned towards the door. "Let's go…" the leading spaceman said, before charging out the door followed by his comrades, all of them firing from the hip, and into a storm of enemy fire. "… _ **HOCH DER KAISER!**_ "

 _Forgive me Leona. I won't be seeing you again. Sorry…_

* * *

A/N

Sceonn: not sure about the empire, but as early as Vermillion Heinessenpolis was suffering shortages, and by the end of the series was described as 'gloomy'. And this was the alliance/Neue Land capital, and can be assumed to reflect the overall state of the alliance. Calling the war 'devastating' might be an exaggeration, but indirectly it was devastating. Also again I'm not sure about the empire, but saying without strain is wrong. Even before they invaded the empire in season 1, the secretary of labour warned that alliance society was on the verge of collapsing because of all the young people getting killed and leaving behind only children and the elderly.

Also, tech not getting right, and shields having no effect on Imperial beam weapons…considering that Imperial and Allied tanks mount electron beam machine guns as secondary weapons, I'm assuming that their rifles fire particle beams. Those interact with shields, though the latter are almost completely useless.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 3

Two days had passed since the Imperials had raided the Turians' forward base of operations. Despite the loss of gunship support and large amounts of fuel and ammunition (which had knocked out the Turian artillery for several punishing hours after they exhausted their on-hand supplies and had to wait for more to arrive from their base camp in the ruins of Shanxi Settlement), the Turians had kept up the pressure on the Imperials.

First Lieutenant Saren Arterius held position with the platoon under his command, coolly-giving orders over the encrypted line (and repeating from time-to-time given the intense interference by the Humans) to his men as they pressed the enemy retreat close. The Imperials had apparently run out of missile ammunition a day ago, and had scuttled their vehicles to keep them out of enemy hands.

What's more, they were apparently running out of manpower, given the Imperials abandoning more and more positions while falling back to concentrate their remaining forces. It might yet be another trap, but given their estimated losses so far, and considering they were just a frontier garrison, it was unlikely compared to the other conclusion.

Saren snorted at the thought. " _It was inevitable anyway._ " He thought as he fired a burst at the retreating Imperials. The burst clipped a man on a leg, and with a flick of his talons Saren switched to semi-auto. One shot finished the man off.

Saren knew that among some of the higher-ranking officers a growing sense of respect for the Humans was growing. He found it foolish.

The Humans _were_ clearly good soldiers, solid and professional. They also _had_ some impressive achievements, specifically their battlefield jammers and handheld energy weapons.

But that didn't necessarily make them worthy of respect.

From what rumours were filtering down, Saren had learned (and confirmed from his brother) that the Humans' government was known as the Galactic Empire, and they might possess a form of FTL (no matter how unlikely) that wasn't based on Element Zero. While he didn't do it openly, he had snorted inwardly with disbelief at his brother's words.

Just the name of the Human government was overbearingly-arrogant and pretentious. If they were truly a 'galactic empire', then why hadn't they discovered the Citadel yet? Privately Saren concluded that the Humans were like the Batarians, deluding themselves with propaganda.

And he found the idea of non-Element Zero FTL laughable. If the Proteans who had constructed things like the Citadel and the Mass Relays had to use Element Zero to travel faster-than-light, then there was no way that backwater primitives could do better.

And of course there was activating a relay – even if they actually passed through it – with reckless disregard for the consequences.

" _Well…_ " he thought as he ordered his squad to advance. " _…we might not be the Rachni, but we've definitely shown these primitives what might happen if you just activate relays without a care for what's on the other side._ "

Yes, these Humans were better off being assimilated into the Hierarchy. They might even have it easier than most, given their sense of discipline (at least among the soldiery). And of course the Hierarchy would probably be more generous to them than to most, once the Humans had learned their place, given what the Humans _could_ give to the Hierarchy in terms of technology.

Then maybe Saren could begin to respect them.

* * *

"One-hundred and forty-two men…" Captain Rodriguez remarked to Commander Fedorovna as they looked over a map table in the command tent. "…that's all we have left. We have no more artillery. Our supplies of food, medicine, and energy are low. And of those men I've mentioned, nearly half are walking wounded."

The commander didn't respond. "Speak what's on your mind commander." The captain said after a moment, and she briefly closed her eyes.

"Do you intend to surrender sir?"

"Do you?"

"I'm not really one to answer that, sir." She said. "I was with the alliance military before."

"So was I." Rodriguez replied. "But back then, we only surrendered because our superiors ordered us to. But now…"

"Now we have the same responsibility they had: to make that decision."

"Yes." Rodriguez said while tapping at the most advanced point of the enemy lines. "And to be honest, I do want to surrender. Any further fighting will be pointless. And selfishly, I don't want to lose any more lives, including my own. But…I also know that the empire is coming. And that also assumes the aliens will treat prisoners well. Considering that both the empire and the alliance didn't always do so during the previous war…"

The captain sighed as he trailed off. "I don't mind being seen as a coward…" he finally said. "…but I can't say the same for the men under my command."

The captain reached forward and tapped at the enemy's lead point. "We still have enough for one last gasp." He said. "It's just a gesture by this point, but this way, whether we die or get captured we'll go down fighting, like soldiers are supposed to."

The commander nodded. "I'll give the order to begin preparations." She said.

Rodriguez nodded. "We attack tonight." He said.

* * *

As night fell, quiet fell across the lines.

Much like the Humans did before them, only in reverse this time, the Turians dug around the last Imperial redoubt. Machine guns were set up, and crossfire points identified. Sentries were set, mortars prepared, and the Turians prepared for a night of waiting for the final battle in the morning.

Spirits were high as the Turians took their rations. It had been a long and surprisingly-hard fight to get to this point, but the taste of impending victory made them think lightly of that fact.

Not all of them though: senior officers in particular found themselves worrying that if a frontier garrison could fight this hard, then how much more regular troops? And of course, Admiral Lucius' confidence aside, the Humans had yet to make a move in space. A full squadron had been set to watch the system's relay, while others were assigned as pickets to watch for an enemy fleet appearing from FTL.

And even that was the result of much arguing between Admiral Lucius and General Arterius, with the latter finally getting his way by pointing out that such precautionary measures were standard. Was the admiral getting lax on proper procedure just because he was on the frontier?

Fuming, the admiral had acquiesced to the general's insistence, but if they weren't friends that would have probably resulted in a duel between the two officers.

As the night deepened, forward sentries spotted the Humans turning their lights off. Initially worried, they quickly dismissed it as merely a precaution against artillery observers using the lights to pinpoint an artillery strike.

Unknown to them however, shortly after the lights went out, the Imperials began slowly moving out and into position for their final attack. Beforehand, all heavy weapons had been disassembled and the parts broken to keep them from falling into enemy hands. A few soldiers were left inside the redoubt, burning documents and once the fighting had begun, to destroy the battlefield jammers. As with their few remaining heavy weapons, it was to keep them from falling into enemy hands.

The Imperials stopped their slow, crawling advance just short of the sentries. Rather than a spread out formation, the Imperials were gathered in a large group, the better to concentrate what little strength they had on a single point as opposed to a thinly-spread line.

Eyes silently turned to their CO, carrying a beam rifle at the head of their formation. The man turned on his back, staring back at his remaining men and women. "Well boys and girls…" he said. "…I guess this is it: the end of the line. All we're doing is a glorified banzai charge, and there's no hiding that fact."

He paused and looked at his troops in the eye. "I did order you to follow me…" he said. "…but most if not all of us will die here or failing that get captured. If you're lucky you might be able to escape into the wilderness, to get hunted like animals by those damn aliens. So with that said, I won't blame you if decide to take your chances and just run."

He stayed silent for the next few moments, staring at his men. They stared back, their eyes and faces set. He nodded. Most of them were Imperial soldiers, but some like him were former Alliance personnel.

But that didn't matter now. Here and now, they were _Human_ soldiers fighting aliens invading a _Human_ world, and they would fight for it.

Rodriguez nodded and looked to Commander Fedorovna. The woman nodded, shifting to a prone position and aiming her rifle at one of the sentries in the distance, the blue lines of his armour giving away his position.

 _Flashy fools…_

Other snipers followed suit, and they waited for their commander's order. Rodriguez raised his hand, and then brought it down in a chopping motion. The cracking of displaced air filled the air, bright blue particle beams gunning down the sentries in one fell swoop.

" _ **HOCH LEBE DER KAISER!**_ " Rodriguez shouted as he got to his feet, firing from the hip as he led the charge. Behind him the other Imperial soldiers followed suit, shouting similar themes or just incoherent shouting, firing at any target they could spot.

Turian soldiers opened fire, caught by surprise but quickly recovering. Machine gun and rifle fire ripped through the air, tracers dim by comparison to the bright Imperial particle beams. Fedorovna's snipers held position, aiming through night-vision goggles and picking off targets of opportunity.

Imperial soldiers fell one after another, taking heavy losses but inflicting few on the Turians. Rodriguez felt bullets clip his cheek with a biting pain, but he ignored it. Firing from the hip, he forced several aliens down, and threw a grenade into their position.

A mortar round exploded nearby, taking off a leg and killing several of what few soldiers were left with him. The captain tumbled on his back, breathing heavily and his ears ringing. Sharp pain in his chest and blood filling his mouth made it clear that shrapnel had probably gotten into his chest.

Unable to move, the captain could only stare up at the night sky. This far into the wilderness the sky was incredibly clear. It wasn't so bad, he reasoned, to die looking up at the stars. And then he realized, many 'stars' were too close to each and moving too fast to actually be stars.

And that was because they weren't stars at all.

As the gunfire died down and a Turian soldier loomed over him, Rodriguez began to laugh despite the iron filling his mouth, and the darkness creeping over his sight. "What's so funny Human?" the alien asked. Somehow, even with the alien's armour projecting the translation of his words, a modicum of contempt could be discerned at the word 'Human'.

Gathering what strength he had, Rodriguez pointed at the stars. The alien would know soon enough, but Rodriguez thought this would make a fine, defiant statement at the end, to mock the enemy by pointing out the empire, _Humanity_ 's victory.

"We've won." He said before closing his eyes, his arm falling to the side. Saren sneered at the Human's defiance, and then looked up at the sky. And then behind his helmet, his eyes widened.

 _That's impossible…_

And then a particle beam seared through the night air, and with a shout of pain Saren's left arm was blown clear off his body.

* * *

Unnatural light flashed across the eternal, velvet darkness of space, temporal-spatial rifts bringing battleships, carriers, cruisers and destroyers out of null space and back into reality. Aboard the flagship _Konigs Tiger_ , Fleet Admiral Fritz Josef Bittenfeld stood tall and proud on the command deck, his arms crossed over his chest.

"All ships have warped-out successfully." One of the bridge crew reported.

"Long-range sensors have detected an under-strength enemy squadron in orbit. Distance approximately three point three light-seconds." Another crewman reported. "They number approximately two hundred ships, and are redeploying into line formation."

"So they were reinforced." Bittenfeld remarked. "Still only two hundred ships…? Really now, if His Majesty Reinhard were here, we'd get mocked for frivolity, deploying sixty thousand ships against only two hundred. No matter, let's get the job done. Brauhitch…! Mauser…!"

The faces of the two other fleet commanders appeared on the tactical display. "Mauser…" Bittenfeld began. "…the rear guard's up to you. I doubt the enemy's got anything up their sleeve, but if they do, then keep them off our backs until we're finished with the guys up front. Don't let anything through!"

"Sir…!" Vice Admiral Mauser said with a salute, his image winking out before the tactical display showed his fleet redeploying to the rear.

"Brauhitch…" Bittenfeld ordered. "…you're our tactical reserve. Maintain mobility, and standby to assist when needed as you see it. Understood…?"

"Yes sir!"

"And that leaves us to actually crush the enemy in front." Bittenfeld said with a grin. "As I said at Marr-Adetta charging forward like a wild boar is our greatest strength!"

"Admiral, the enemy squadron is breaking orbit!"

Pointing at the enemy squadron in the distance he gave his orders. "Black Lancers take an enclosing formation!" he said. "All ships charge in at maximum battle speed! Follow my lead!"

Plasma engines flared hot and bright as the warships of the Black Lancers, the empire's premier assault fleet charged forward with the _Konigs Tiger_ at their heart. "I want prisoners to interrogate and computers to analyse!" Bittenfeld ordered as he watched his fleet eat up the distance, and the tactical display showed an enemy flagship. "Switch to close-range fire, and prepare to launch Valkyries!"

The admiral crossed his arms again, but as the Black Lancers crossed the one light-second threshold, he clenched his fist before him. "Now…!" he ordered. "Volley fire once, and then launch the Valkyries…!"

The Black Lancers fired, neutron beams cutting through open space before striking into the alien ships. Blinding explosions tore apart the enemy formation, and Bittenfeld dramatically swept his arm back, his black cape billowing behind him. "Panzergrenadiers prepare for boarding attack!" he ordered. "Valkyries, target the remaining ships' engines!"

* * *

Aboard the _Iron Resolve_ 's bridge pure chaos was reigning. The fleet moving into line formation was an instinctive response to the arrival of an enemy fleet, but between no Element Zero readings, the sheer size of the enemy fleet (over sixty thousand), and the diagnostics reporting that there was no error with their readings…

…it didn't take long for Admiral Lucius to give the order to retreat, and never mind the stranded troops on the surface.

And then the aliens were charging in, cutting off their escape route as tens of thousands of ships spread out in an enclosing formation. Unable to go to FTL without risking a collision, the admiral was about to order the fleet to break through when the enemy opened fire at the insane distance of over two hundred thousand kilometres.

"All wings and squadrons report heavy losses." The sensor crewman reported with barely-controlled panic in his voice. "Estimating losses at…one hundred and sixty-seven ships…!"

"No…!" the _Iron Resolve_ 's captain burst out. "That…that's just…"

"Over fifty per cent losses…" Garrus whispered. "…spirits, our fleet's been effectively-destroyed."

"Multiple space-combat fighters closing…!"

"Have GARDIAN lasers intercept!"

Ungainly-looking machines closed in, and then they were dispersing with surprisingly speed and mobility. They zipped around the Turian warships, hull sections revolving to bring weapons to bear.

"GARDIAN lasers ineffective! Targeting systems are being jammed, the system can't…!"

The crewman was cut off as the _Iron Resolve_ reeled, the deck pitching and throwing crew and officers off their feet. The lights flickered and then went out, emergency lights coming online moments later.

"Engine room's been hit!" a crewman shouted as he pulled himself back to his station. "Main power is down! Weapons, long-range sensors and communications, and engines are offline! We're dead in the water!"

"Emergency power is online!" another crewman reported. "Short-range sensors detect multiple enemy spacecraft all around us!"

"Why haven't they finished us off yet?" the admiral demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Captain Tertius snapped. "They're going to board this ship! All crew, standby to repel boarders!"

The admiral gaped, and then bolted for the computer room. "Captain…!" he ordered as he manually opened the doors, but refusing to meet the captain and the bridge crew's eyes. "I'll need time to delete the main computer's data! Hold them off for as long as you can!"

Without waiting for a response, the admiral rushed into the computer room, and sealed the doors behind him. "Coward…" Tertius spat once the admiral was no longer within earshot. "…it doesn't take that long to delete the main computer's data."

Garrus couldn't help but agree. A part of his mind reproved him for jumping to conclusions, but considering the admiral's haste to get to the isolated main computer, the ease a high-ranking officer could delete data en masse, and his generally-guilty body language (Garrus knew all about body language given his father's profession as a detective)…

His thoughts were broken as the sensor crewman gave another report. "Short-range sensors have detected additional spacecraft approaching." He said. "They're different from before, possibly boarding craft."

"So they've come." Tertius said. "What about the rest of the fleet?"

"Communications are being jammed. We can't reach them. Ships in detection range appear to be disabled as well."

"Damn it…!" Tertius swore. "It looks like this is it…we charged in guns blazing like a bunch of Krogan and we're going to pay for it. All crew, boarders incoming!"

* * *

"Admiral…" an officer rushed to the command deck. "…what's left of the enemy squadron has been disabled. Boarding actions have begun."

"Good…" Bittenfeld said before turning to his adjutant. "…make a note of how our refits functioned compared to our last combat situation. Minister Kessler among others will be interested to hear about it."

"Yes sir."

Given the end of hostilities between the empire and the alliance (and the latter's remnants), the development and construction of new ship classes had been reduced in priority. With that said, the empire recognized the aging design of existing classes, having been in use since Universal Calendar 788, Imperial Calendar 479.

As such a large-scale refit program was put into action five years ago, involving the installation of new engines that increased speed and mobility by thirty per cent, calibrating sensor and communication suites to compensate for the increase in mobility, and lengthening the hulls' service lives. Vessels too old to be refitted were decommissioned, and new vessels built along the refitted standards to replace them.

The only ship class to avoid refitting was the fast battleship, given its superior performance in all aspects even when compared to the new standards set by the refit. Some flagships like Fleet Admiral Muller's _Perceval_ also had no need to be refitted, but Bittenfeld's _Konigs Tiger_ was not among those.

"Read Admiral Hansel…" Bittenfeld said, and the rear admiral's image appeared on the tactical display. "…I'll leave overseeing the boarding actions to you. The rest of the fleet will proceed to the planet."

Rear Admiral Hansel saluted, and his image vanished. The Black Lancers resumed their advance, and leaving the wing commanded by Read Admiral Hansel behind around what was left of the alien squadron, made for Shanxi.

"Our sensors detect two major concentration of enemy forces." One crewman reported as they made orbit. "The first is where the settlement is supposed to be and the other is at the mountains to the north."

"It seems the garrison went to ground." Bittenfeld's chief of staff remarked, and he nodded.

"So it seems." He said. "Signal Rear Admirals Klein and Daschner. Begin landing troops at once, and use their ships to provide support. Also, tell them not to go too far."

"Yes sir."

Bittenfeld smiled as his orders were relayed. " _I've gotten old if I'm saying such things._ " He thought wryly.

* * *

Alarms were screaming as a squad of Turian naval arms-men rushed down a corridor of the _Iron Resolve_ , moving towards where the Humans cut their way into the ship. "This is messed-up." Crewman First Class Olympio Gellius whispered under his breath. "Energy weapons…the fleet destroyed in one volley…we can't call for help…dead in the water…this is messed-up…"

"Shut it Crewman Gellius." Petty Officer First Class Palinurus Serranus snapped. "That's defeatist talk, and I won't have it."

"But sir…" Crewman First Class Maximia Mallus began, only for the NCO to glare at her.

"You have something to say crewman?"

"No sir."

"Good, because I do." The petty officer said. "I don't care if the enemy throws around entire galaxies as projectile weapons or shits dark matter, we're Turian sailors. And this is _our_ ship, and we're going to throw them out no matter what. Got that…?"

"Yes sir."

"I didn't hear that squad!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"That's better." The petty officer said as they resumed making for their destination. As they turned a corner they were stupefied to have crossbow bolts bounce off their shields.

A few of the Turians laughed…though the laughter stopped as two more volleys of crossbow bolts struck at them and depleted their shields. Soberly, they realized that despite its primitive nature, a crossbow had more penetrating power per shot than standard small-arms fire. The Turians opened fire, only for a fourth volley to decimate their ranks as their shields – less advanced than those issued to officers and front-line troops among others – took more time to recharge.

Their bullets on the other hand, just bounced off the heavy armour worn by the boarders. And then the crossbowmen stood aside in favour of others wielding massive, double-bladed axes. The Turians gaped, and then opened fire wildly as the Human charged.

Again, their shots did no damage, and then the Humans were on them. A few had partially-recharged their shields, but they were far too weak to hold. Blue blood splattered the decks as screams filled the air, the panzergrenadiers literally taking the arms-men apart.

All except for one, Maximia collapsing against the wall as her SMG clattered uselessly to the deck. The Imperials slowly advanced, and then stopped as the Turian curled up like a child, muttering and whispering piteously under her breath.

"Take him prisoner." The panzergrenadier commander ordered, not knowing that 'he' was actually a 'she'. The Turian didn't resist as she was taken by the arms, and her wrists bound behind her. "Let's get a move on!"

* * *

Air defence systems exploded as Valkyries flew by, electron beams leaving molten rock and metal behind them. Overhead the massive warships of the Black Lancers soared, overshadowing the Turian forward base of operations. White parachutes starkly stood out against the night sky, APCs and paratroopers gracefully floating down.

Hovercraft-mounted panzergrenadiers had already made landfall, massive explosions marking where they struck at and destroyed enemy artillery positions. Landing craft were deploying armour and infantry, and within ten minutes mechanized columns were advancing behind the panzergrenadiers towards where what seemed to be the garrison's last stand.

Other troops invested the Turian forward base of operations, particle beams and bullets exchanged between both sides. Paratroopers landing behind enemy lines and Imperial armour quickly moving up soon broke the brief stalemate, the Turian lines crumbling as they were overrun by superior numbers.

Read Admiral Daschner stood on his battleship's command deck, watching on the tactical display as his troops overran the enemy stronghold and attacked their deployed forces in the rear. "Sir…" a crewman said as he ran up, and the rear admiral nodded his acknowledgement. "…we've received a communication from one General Desolas Arterius, commanding the…"

The crewman paused as he glanced at the transcript he was holding. "…commanding the forty-fifth legion." he said. "He requests terms for surrender."

"They can speak our language…?" the rear admiral's adjutant said in shock.

"So it would seem." Daschner said. "Or more likely, they've developed translator software using captured material from the settlement, perhaps even with assistance from captured civilians."

"Collaborators…traitors…"

"Lieutenant-commander…" Daschner said admonishingly. "…restrain yourself. It's not our place to determine guilt or innocence. Leave that to the Ministry of Justice and the courts. I will not have any reprisal attacks under my command, and same can be said for His Excellency the Fleet Admiral. We will not shame His Majesty's name and the honour of the Imperial Fleet with vigilantism."

"Yes sir, please accept my apologies."

Daschner nodded and turned back to the crewman. "No terms…" he said. "…unconditional surrender, though we guarantee good treatment of prisoners, and access to non-military supplies such as food and medicine."

"Yes sir."

"Food and medicine sir…?"

Daschner nodded. "These are aliens." He said. "They might be able to breathe oxygen, but we shouldn't assume they eat the same food and use the same medicine as we do."

"Yes sir."

The rear admiral turned his attention back to the tactical display, and then a few minutes later, the same crewman from before ran up. "Sir…" he said. "…General Arterius unconditionally agrees to order his forces to surrender. However he expresses concern that given the chaotic battlefield, his troops in the distance…"

"I understand." Daschner said. "Inform the general that once all his forces in the base have surrendered, he will be escorted to the front lines where he can order his troops to surrender."

"Is that wise sir?" the adjutant asked. "The enemy general could escape and begin a guerrilla campaign."

"I doubt if a single alien could overcome an entire battleship's crew on his own, do you?" Daschner asked with a smile. The adjutant blinked and then his eyes widened with realization.

"I understand sir."

"Admiral the enemy forces have surrendered."

"Good…" Daschner said. "…order our troops to disarm the enemy, and to take them into custody. Furthermore, issue standing orders that any and all mistreatment of prisoners, will be treated as offenses subject to public execution following a summary court-martial."

"Yes sir."

"Lieutenant-commander…" Daschner said, turning to his adjutant. "…escort the general to our ship. Even if he is an enemy, he's still a flag officer. Let's treat him with respect, even if his only remaining role at this point is to surrender his remaining forces."

"Yes sir!"

 _On Universal Calendar 814, New Imperial Calendar 16, Imperial Standard Calendar August 2_ _nd_ _, the Battle of Shanxi came to an end. However this was only the beginning of a new epoch in history._

* * *

A/N

LoGH naval artillery can gut ships tough enough to fight in close orbit over a star, in a gas giant's upper atmosphere, and even close to a black hole's event horizon. And those same guns have an effective range of six million kilometres according to episode 22 of season 1. Do you really think kinetic barriers would even _register_ to weapons that powerful?


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 4

The bridge doors exploded inwards from the Human blasting charges, followed by several, smaller explosions that sent shrapnel ripping through the air as grenades were thrown in. The Turians stayed behind the cover of their stations, clutching small arms.

As heavy, armoured footsteps thudded on the deck, Captain Tertius briefly slipped out of cover to open fire. "Open fire!" he ordered. "For the Hierarchy…!"

Other bridge officers and crew followed suit, SMGs and pistols sending hypersonic rounds to bounce off the Imperials' armour. So far none of the panzergrenadiers had been lost to the Turians, even when they had fought their way to the bridge, but their armour was scratched and pitted, as though they'd been put through a sandstorm.

Undaunted, the Imperial panzergrenadiers charged through the fire, axes held low. Splitting into two groups, they advanced along either side of the command deck, flushing out and cutting down Turian crew as they tried to run. Captain Tertius personal shield managed to tank the first blow made against him, but the force behind it still buffeted him away, and slamming him hard against the command deck's side.

As he slumped, dazed to the floor, the panzergrenadier raised his axe and brought it down hard on the captain's torso. The captain gasped by reflex as blue blood exploded from the blow, and then collapsed from shock before dying.

Garrus was among those few who managed to retreat down the bridge's forward section, the Imperials advancing in pursuit. Most of the Turians kept up a desperate stream of fire, but Garrus, while keeping his weapon up, could see that the battle was lost. He looked around the bridge, swallowing dryly at the sight of Turians lying cold and dead in pools of their blood.

He then looked at the remaining bridge crew around him, falling back step by step against the Imperials' slow and purposeful advance. They cut the Turians down one by one as they advanced, steadily driving them into a corner.

Garrus made his decision. The shame would be with him for the rest of his life, but for him honour was worth less than doing the right thing.

And right now he needed to save as many as he could.

"Cease fire!" he shouted, switching his communicator to broadcast on all frequencies…and in Imperial Galactic Standard.

The Turians automatically stopped firing at the order, though they looked at him in surprise. Surprise at the order, and at the language it was sent in. They understood of course, the updated translator software already installed on their translator implants, the same implants that allowed them to understand what an Asari or a Salarian would say. Or indeed, the language of any of the known spacefaring races – the Humans merely being the latest addition to that group.

The Imperials stopped in surprise that the aliens could speak (or at least could broadcast a translation) in Imperial Galactic Standard.

"Lieutenant…?" one of the other Turians ventured.

"Stand down, and lower your weapons." Garrus ordered, slowly stooping to put his pistol on the ground and just as slowly getting to his feet. "That's an order."

"But sir…"

"I'll take full responsibility." He said. The other Turians looked at each other uneasily, and then at the Imperials looking at them unnervingly through the skull-like faces of their armoured suits. Then they looked back at Garrus. Surrender wasn't encouraged in Turian culture, instead emphasizing all members of society to do their duty to the utmost. But it also emphasized responsibility, as well as deference to proper authority.

Slowly, they lowered their weapons to the deck before raising their hands in the air in surrender. The Imperials cautiously took a step forward only to halt as Garrus stepped forward and past his crewmates. The Imperials and the lieutenant stared at each other, and then the Imperial squad leader spoke in a muffled voice.

"State your name and rank."

"Garrus Vakarian, my rank is lieutenant."

The Imperial immediately saluted. "My apologies sir…" he said.

Garrus nodded. "As the highest-ranking officer present…" he said. "…I surrender my men into your custody, and ask for treatment suitable to surrendering soldiers."

"Yes sir."

As his men were escorted away, Garrus lingered, directing his captors to where Admiral Lucius was hiding: the main computer room. On one hand, Garrus hoped that the admiral _had_ succeeded in deleting the data to deny it to the enemy. The Turians might have started this war, but that didn't mean the Turians should just simply roll over for the enemy.

On the other hand, Garrus bitterly noted how the admiral had stayed in the main computer room while the rest of the bridge crew fought and died, or were ultimately taken prisoner. Deleting the data might save the admiral some shame, but between starting a war and hiding out during the bridge battle there was a lot of responsibility to go around.

Garrus looked at the main computer room's lock and shook his head. "The admiral's locked himself in." he said. "I don't have the rank code to override his."

The ranking Imperial nodded, motioning Garrus back and to wait as a tech specialist began working on the door. Garrus did as ordered, while more of the Imperials arrived. One of them was apparently a ranking officer, who looked at Garrus' presence in surprise.

"Sir…" one of the Imperials said with a salute. "…this is Lieutenant Garrus Vakarian. He surrendered the last of the bridge crew to us, and led us to the main computer room."

The newly-arrived officer nodded, and looked at Garrus. "Lieutenant is it…?" he asked. "And the reasoning for surrender…? Some of your crewmates are still fighting elsewhere in this ship."

Garrus felt his cheek twitch at the implication that he surrendered out of cowardice. "The battle is over." He said. "You've won. There's no more point in spilling Human or Turian blood. I did what I had to do to save my remaining men."

For a moment the two lieutenants stared at each other, and then the Imperial nodded. "I see." He said. "My apologies, it seemed I misunderstood."

Garrus nodded, and then with a shower of sparks from the control panel the doors leading into the main computer room slid open. A pair of panzergrenadiers cautiously entered, and then quickly retreated. "Sir…" one of them said. "…you'll want to see this."

The lieutenant followed with two more panzergrenadiers, and Garrus. Inside they found Admiral Lucius slumped over the main terminal, the screen and controls covered with blue Turian blood. A pistol was in the admiral's hand.

At once, the Imperials stood to attention and saluted. Impressed despite himself (both at the admiral's redeeming his honour by suicide and at the Imperials' recognizing and honouring the fact), Garrus did likewise. And from what the terminal screen was flashing, it seemed that the admiral _had_ deleted the data before committing suicide.

" _Spirits watch over you, admiral._ " Garrus thought as he was led away.

* * *

Saren Arterius blinked himself awake, and then with a start got to a sitting position. He just as quickly doubled-over at dull pain filling his body. The last thing he remembered before falling unconscious was searing pain at his left shoulder, and trying to reach for his arm.

To his horror and mounting rage, he looked down and saw indeed that his left arm was gone.

The curtains around his bed slid open, and General Desolas Arterius approached. "Saren…" he said with a note of relief. "…you're awake."

"Brother…" Saren said, his rage giving way to delight at his brother's presence.

"I'm sorry Saren." Desolas said as he took a seat beside Saren's bed. "Your arm's gone. The docs are did their best, but it was all they could do to save you. You lost a lot of blood – whoever said energy weapons cauterize their wounds really needs to do a lot of empirical testing – and had gone to shock by the time you got to them."

Saren sighed and nodded. "Docs did their best." He said. "I understand. It's the same with war. No matter how good your tactics and strategy are, you're still going to lose of your own."

Desolas nodded, and Saren sighed again. "And…?" Saren asked. "I suppose I'm getting my prosthetic fixed right now?"

"Not quite…" Desolas said. "…we're short on cybernetics right now and well…"

"I understand." Saren said. "The men come first, eh?"

Desolas nodded, and Saren relaxed back against his pillows. The two brothers sat in silence for a while, and then Saren spoke up again. "It's over isn't it?" he said. "This battle that is. All that's left is to round up the survivors."

Desolas looked despondent, and Saren felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. "Brother…?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Saren, I really am." Desolas finally said. "It's been three days since the battle ended, but we lost."

For a moment Saren stared, and then he started at Desolas, who grabbed his brother's arm and shoulder to restrain him. "What do you mean we lost?" Saren exploded. "How…? Why…?"

"Enemy reinforcements came, and we were overrun." Desolas said softly. Inwardly, he worried about how this would affect Saren's mental state. His brother was still young, full of pride and confidence in the Hierarchy's overwhelming might. Desolas was old though, and while he knew that while the Hierarchy was _the_ military power in Citadel Space, they were far from all-powerful.

The Galactic Empire just reinforced that.

"But…the fleet…!" Saren insisted. "Two hundred ships led by a dreadnought! Nothing could possibly…!"

"Saren…" Desolas cut him off. "…it's time you understood. There's no such thing as absolutes. The Rachni almost destroyed the Council. Then the Krogan destroyed the Rachni. Then the Krogan almost destroyed the Council. Then we defeated the Krogan. And now we…"

"NO!" Saren exploded, struggling against his brother's grip. "WE'RE THE TURIAN HIERARCHY! WE'RE THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN THE GALAXY! WE CANNOT LOSE!"

"Sixty thousand ships…" Desolas quietly replied and stunned Saren into silence. "…five hundred thousand men, of the latter which only a fifth have been deployed."

"What?"

"I…I had to surrender, if only to save as many of our own as I could. I'll take full responsibility of course…"

"Brother…" Saren whispered, clutching at Desolas with his only hand. "…brother…how could you…why…"

Desolas sighed, and eased Saren back into his bed. "We'll talk some more later." He said. "Right now you need some rest."

Once his brother was lying down again, Desolas made to leave. "Sorry Saren…" he said. "…but I have to see others of the wounded as well. Rest for now."

As his brother left, the curtains softly swishing closed in his wake, Saren lay in his bed. They were defeated. It was unthinkable but it had happened. They were defeated.

 _His brother had surrendered to the barbarian Humans._

 _His brother…Desolas…who he had always looked up to…_

 _He had surrendered._

 _He surrendered like a coward, instead of doing his duty and fighting to the utmost, upholding the honour of the Hierarchy._

And then Saren's thoughts went back to the man he had killed, three nights ago if his brother was to be believed. And he remembered the man's last words, hatefully translated for him by the cold, unsympathetic translator programs.

 _We've won._

Saren screamed with rage and hatred.

* * *

In a stateroom within the Golden Fountain Palace in the New Imperial City on the planet Fezzan, three high-ranking government officials attended to the empire's rulers. Those three officials were Minister of State Karl Braque, Minister of War Ulrich Kessler, and Imperial Fleet Chief of Staff, Fleet Admiral Neidhart Muller. Meeting with them was not just the Dowager Empress and Regent of the New Galactic Empire, Hildegard von Lohengramm, but the thirteen year-old boy Emperor Alexander Siegfried the First.

"Interesting…" Hilda remarked. "…to think the aliens had developed such advanced translator software, which could then be installed in a neural implant to allow an individual to understand an alien language. One need not learn to speak another language, they could simply speak as they normally would, the implant would directly ensure that whoever is listening will understand, and vice versa."

Hilda paused and then continued. "With that said…" she said. "…given the nature of the implant – a direct neural implant – it would probably be best until the Ministries of Health and of Science and Technology can finish examining them under controlled circumstances."

"I would agree Your Majesty." Kessler said. "It shouldn't be too hard for them to do so, given we already possess comparable cybernetic technology. I would add though that we should sponsor private developers to replicate and develop the technology for our use."

Hilda nodded. "I quite agree." She said. "In the long-term private development – preferably by multiple agencies and organizations – and provision of said technology will ensure quality, better service, and encourage innovation."

"That shouldn't be problematic then." Braque said. "There are plenty of cybernetics firms in existence already. We can simply release the existing technology for free perusal and allow them to develop at will, within existing regulations for cybernetics and neural implantation/augmentation. Of course, as you said Your Majesty, this would or should take place after the appropriate precautionary measures by the appropriate ministries are passed."

"Quite…" Hilda said. "…moving on to the next piece or rather area of alien technology as relayed by Admiral Bittenfeld, Element Zero…I will be frank gentlemen. It's certainly interesting, and I can see there is potential in it, but it would be counter to our interests to begin making use of said technology."

"For starters we don't exactly have the infrastructure for locating, extracting, and refining the stuff." Muller put in with a chuckle. "We'd have to depend on alien corporate groups to introduce the technology, and I for one have no liking for that idea,"

"Neither I…" Braque agreed. "…it would prove disastrous for our shipbuilding industry alone. Without Element Zero we can build thousands – _at least_ – of ships a year here at Fezzan alone. If we start using it…"

The Minister of State trailed off, though to all who had read the reports sent back by Bittenfeld from his fleets' engineers and technicians, based on their field studies of alien technology as well as collected data from (ironically) the aliens' own unsent First Contact package, there was no need for him to finish.

They could draw the conclusion on their own, and even the young Emperor had no liking for it.

"Weapons-wise as well…" Muller continued after a moment. "…we've no need for Element Zero. Our particle beam rifles easily surpass their handheld kinetic accelerators, never mind our naval artillery. With that said, battlefield shielding…"

He shook his head. "No…" Muller said. "…we're already working on ship-mounted gravity shield generators against neutron beams. It will take time, but I believe that in the long-term we can adapt that same technology for personal use. In the meantime, our troops will have to do without them…though it's not like Human soldiers haven't done without them long before the empire was founded, isn't it?"

There were nods at that. "Even the non-military aspects of Mass Effect Physics…" Braque said. "…the ability to manufacture evenly-blended or super-strong alloys for one…we've already gravity-manipulation technology of our own. We've no need to risk penetration by the…Asari or something, who dominate the Element Zero market in the greater galaxy. If we're behind in some areas, then we should work to catch up with our own achievement. We've come this far already. Why can't we go further?"

"Well said State Minister…" Kessler said. "…that brings up an interesting point: according to the aliens' data, Element Zero Technology was developed based on reverse-engineered technology from an extinct alien race called the Proteans. These Proteans also built the so-called Citadel, and the Mass Relay Network."

"However…?" the Emperor asked, leaning forward to show his interest.

"Isn't it paradoxical?" Kessler asked. "The mass relays and the Citadel are said to be made of virtually-indestructible material, and yet no trace of that alloy has _ever_ been found in any known Protean ruin. And more importantly, if a race as powerful as the Proteans were supposed to be was destroyed, then where are their destroyers now?"

Eyes widened and narrowed at that. "Mutual destruction…?" Muller remarked softly. "Or…?"

Kessler nodded. "I'd rather not assume without more data…" he said. "…but I am willing to assume this much: there's a secret or more behind the mass relays and the Citadel. And the so-called Citadel Council most likely knows nothing of it, simply building over apparent ruins without a care for what lies beneath."

"A bit too conspiratorial for my taste…" Hilda said. "…but your reasoning is sound, War Minister."

Kessler bowed, and Hilda nodded. "We'll be cautious about this greater galaxy and the secrets it holds." She said. "But at the same time we won't become hermits. We should take what opportunities we can to enrich Imperial, no _Human_ civilization, while ensuring both our identity and our security as a species."

There were nods of agreement at that. "Moving on…" Hilda said. "…the diplomatic team has arrived hasn't it?"

"High Admiral Bayerlein is standing by one starzone away." Braque replied. "Count Drachenstein and his diplomatic team will join Admiral Bittenfeld by tomorrow morning standard time at the latest. From there, they will wait until either or both the Council and the Hierarchy make contact."

"Very well…" Hilda said. "…we will seek peace, but peace on _our_ terms. We will have reparations for the dead and the injured, both military and civilian, for destroyed property, and the cost of the effort to move so many ships and men across thousands of light-years. We will have diplomatic recognition. In return, we will extend our own diplomatic recognition, and we will open our doors – cautiously though that will have to be discussed in greater depth in the future – to foreign trade. We will even sign and ratify these Citadel Conventions of theirs."

Hilda paused and smiled at the surprised expression on the faces of the others present. "Surprised…?" she asked. "The Citadel Conventions prohibit the use of large-scale weapons of mass destruction on habitable worlds. It doesn't say anything about not using them elsewhere, or prohibiting their existence."

"We have a cultural taboo against using nuclear weapons on habitable worlds, dating back to the Thirteen Day War and Ninety Years War of the 21st and 22nd Centuries." Muller said with dawning comprehension. "Signing and ratifying the conventions would merely enshrine the taboo within galactic law."

"And at the same time it would give us a reputation for being willing to compromise." Alex remarked, speaking up for the first time. "Clever…"

Hilda briefly closed her eyes at her son's praise. "That is indeed my intention." She said. It went without saying that the existence of the empire's strategic deterrent – a stockpile of gigaton-grade strategic anti-planetary nuclear weapons – would be non-negotiable, though it was unlikely in the extreme that its existence would be known to the aliens…so far. "However, we will not sign this Treaty of Farixen of theirs, nor will we allow these 'spectres' of theirs to do as they please in our sovereign territory. The empire's sovereign rights _will_ be maintained in their entirety, and this includes the right to decide and enforce defence policy _without_ foreign interference, and to maintain law and order within our territory. And as the Treaty of Farixen is a requirement for Council membership – even if only as an associate – we will not be joining the Council."

"Joining the Council also implies a degree of surrender over our sovereign rights as a nation." Muller agreed. "At the expense of being overly-poetic, it would be akin to shackling ourselves to a viper's nest with free trade and movement treaties. And that would only be the beginning."

Agreeing nods met the Fleet Admiral's words. Hilda looked to Minister Braque. "I trust you can express our terms to Count Drachenstein, Minister of State?" she asked, and the minister bowed in response. "Good, though we'll have to wait for them to make the next move. I'd rather not send a fleet in and escalate this conflict by mistake, or send a diplomatic team into enemy territory when we're unsure of their ultimate intentions. Hopefully, they too would seek peace, given what we know of their history so far."

Again, agreeing nods came from all around at Hilda's words. The history of the greater galaxy as Admiral Bittenfeld had uncovered from the aliens' data was rather unnerving. On one hand, they clearly sought peaceful and mutually-beneficial coexistence with each other. On the other hand, political power within the greater galaxy was monopolized by the three Council races: the Asari, the Salarians, and the Turians. And while Hilda and her ministers could understand and accept the reasoning behind the Citadel Conventions, the same could not be said about the Treaty of Farixen and the Spectres.

Or better put, they understood the reasoning behind them they were just unacceptable to the empire.

And there were also the wars the Council fought in the past, with the genocide of the Rachni, the infliction of the genophage on the Krogan, and the exile of the Quarians striking a nerve of worry among those in the know. That the Turians had attacked despite Humanity knowing nothing of the prohibition against the activation of mass relays only fed that worry further, and planting the seeds for a determination to ensure that Humanity could stand on its own.

"I have something in mind though, now that that's out of the way." Alex suddenly said. "It's something that takes advantage of this situation, and would allow us to further cement Imperial rule over known space."

"And what might that be, Alex?" Hilda asked. The Emperor smiled at his mother's question.

"It's been what, almost five years since the Interstellar Governance Act was passed wasn't it?" he replied. "And a general election is coming up."

The Interstellar Governance Act (IGA) was passed in New Imperial Calendar 11, granting federal autonomy to Imperial Starzones. The autonomy was less than that granted to the Heinessen Autonomous Government (HAG), specifically that the HAG possessed power of taxation and the right to maintain a self-defence force, albeit with the latter prohibited from building and fielding carriers and battleships.

Most importantly however, the IGA allowed for the regular election of regional senates for the purpose of regional administration, led by a first minister of their selection. It also allowed for the election of planetary governors and councils, and set down strict qualifications for the posts of senator, first minister, planetary governor and councillor. Certain powers such as taxation, war, and common law and order within the empire as a whole among other powers remained with the Imperial government, but with the first ministers being a cabinet-level post theoretically-answering to the Imperial Chancellor (or in this case _without_ an Imperial Chancellor directly to the Imperial Regent) as well as democracy now established at the local level, it helped diffuse potentially-inflammatory tensions within the Sagittarius Arm, and further pushed the Lohengramm Dynasty's profile higher among Imperial citizens in general.

"Instead of electing new senators and other local government officials in the next general elections…" Alex said. "…we should have them elect a National Assembly, for the purpose of drafting a charter for the empire as a whole. The current set of elected officials will serve until a charter is drawn up and ratified, and then we'll hold another election including seats on parliament."

The government officials stared at the Emperor's proposal, but the Empress kept her face neutral. "Do you really think the empire is ready for constitutional rule, Alex?" she asked.

Alex thought for several moments. "No…" he said. "…not yet…not fully, but we can make the next step to constitutional rule with a limited parliamentary system."

He paused and smiled. "I'm still in middle school." He said. "So I don't really know how far those limits should go. But I trust **you** mother, and I'm sure if anyone knows where to limit parliament until the empire is ready to entrust governance to it, it's you. And I _know_ that we're ready for that much."

For a long moment, mother and son looked at each other, and then Hilda smiled. "I suppose a limited Galactic Parliament will do as the next step to full constitutional monarchy." she conceded. "But how would that take advantage of this situation as you said earlier?"

"History shows us that when a common enemy appears, rivals and enemies can and do stand together." Alex said. "And while I certainly hope that the aliens will be willing to make peace with us, given that the aliens launched an unprovoked attack over a legal technicality we weren't even aware of, we can spin this as evidence for Humanity needing to stand together against the rest of the galaxy."

The Emperor thought for a bit. "However alliances based on common enemies are uneasy things." He continued after a moment. "History also shows us that such alliances more often than not collapse once the common threat recedes. We can use the recognition of the need for Human unity to get the republicans to accept a limited constitution, something they might not otherwise accept. From there we can continue to prepare the empire for full constitutional monarchy without having to deal with internal difficulties stemming from republican ambitions."

"And hopefully…" Hilda concluded. "…by the time the common threat recedes, the empire is either ready for full constitutional monarchy or has been one for a time already, thus allowing the empire to stand on its own without a need for an external incentive to keep it together."

Alex nodded, and Hilda chuckled. "You certainly are your father's son." She said, causing Alex to blush and look away with embarrassment. "Certainly, you've the talent to discern when to reach out and grab hold of destiny before it can slip past, and the intelligence to make use of it."

Hilda sighed. "One day I'm sure…" she said. "…you'll make a fine ruler."

"Mother…"

"But for now…" she continued with a smile. "…focus on your studies. You'll need them in the future, though this suggestion you made just now is definitely something we'll have to work on. A National Assembly to draft the Imperial Charter…we'll have to discuss things with our political allies beforehand, if we're to keep control of the situation in the aftermath."

She turned to Minister Braque. "Call a cabinet meeting for tomorrow evening to discuss this matter." She ordered.

"Yes Your Majesty."

* * *

A/N

Fun fact: National Assembly in German is _Reichstag_. Considering the Galactic Empire's historical inspiration – Prussia/the German Empire – I'm sure more than a few people should be able to guess what the Galactic Parliament will be like, or what the empire's shape will be once the Imperial Charter is drawn up and implemented.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 5

 _Citadel Space, the Serpent Nebula, the Citadel, the Presidium_

Councillor Pugnus Martellus Tertianus entered the Council chamber, within which waited his fellow councillors. There was Tevos, the oldest both in personal age and service as a councillor, representing the Asari Republics. There was Xalian, representing the Salarian Union, younger than Martellus but by Salarian standards he was fast approaching retirement age.

Right away Martellus knew from his colleagues' body language that something was wrong, and given the way all conversation had died the moment he entered the Council chamber it was clearly connected to him. And he had a feeling he knew why.

 _Damn that Lucius…_

"Now that we are all here…" Tevos began as Martellus took his seat. "…let us begin this meeting of the Citadel Council. As this meeting was called by Councillor Martellus, he shall open the discussions for this meeting."

"Thank you Councillor Tevos." Martellus said. "Before anything though, I'd like to apologize for having kept this Council in the dark, but as the representative of my government I am obliged to obey my superiors' directions."

"The fabled Turian respect for authority…?" Xalian asked, and Martellus fixed his eyes on the Salarian.

"It's as you say, councillor." He said laconically. Tevos briefly studied Martellus' body language, and then some of the tension went out of her body. Xalian noticed this, and after a moment he too relaxed to an extent.

"Well you're clearly not happy about this situation either." she said, losing some of the formality from earlier. "What the hell happened, Martellus?"

"During the previous month automated monitors assigned to Relay 314 indicated the relay being activated from the other side." Martellus replied. "The military overseer for that region of space, one Admiral Gaius Lucius Lisenius, took it upon himself to take a patrol's worth of ships across the relay, and investigate what was an apparent breach of the prohibition against the activation of dormant relays. He had assumed it was the doing of pirates or slavers, maybe even the Quarians, but…"

Martellus looked uncomfortable, and then he sighed. "Instead he found a group of ships from an unidentified species studying the relay." He said. "Apparently they were the ones responsible for activating it. Heedless of the fact that this _was_ a First Contact situation, _and_ that the aliens were unaware of the prohibition, he immediately attacked."

"In other words…" Tevos said while running a hand over her face. "…he may have started a war with an unknown species, which _might_ have been willing to seek peaceful dialogue and coexistence with us beforehand, and putting us in the same position to them as the Rachni were to us thousands of years ago."

"That is correct."

"And…?" Tevos asked. "What happened after that? Why are we only learning about this now?"

"Admiral Lucius did not see fit to inform Hierarchy Command until he had further to report." Martellus replied. "An act of initiative well within his rights as a flag officer, and by the time he did report, his findings were deemed…too limited to require Council intervention."

"And what exactly did he find?"

This time it was Xalian who replied. He tapped on a control panel, drawing up a holographic representation of data. "According to STG SIGINT…" he said. "…the aliens – who call themselves Humans – are in possession of handheld directed-energy weapons, and circumstantial evidence suggests that they _might_ have a technology base not dependent on Element Zero."

Martellus sighed and looked at Xalian. "While I understand the reasoning behind the STG and Salarian military doctrine…" he said. "…I really wish that you need not put me in this kind of situation. Specifically, where I have to report to Hierarchy Command that the STG has – again – managed to compromise our cryptographic measures?"

"My apologies…" Xalian said. "…however as you say, this is only part of STG and Union strategic doctrine."

"Going back to the point…" Tevos cut in. "…the Turians have encountered a race making use of handheld energy weapons and might have technology not dependent on Element Zero, and they deemed it unnecessary to inform the Council."

"The evidence for the second point was circumstantial." Martellus quickly replied. "Most likely, the ships present in the system were not FTL-capable, and given that the world in question apparently _was_ a frontier colony, it was dismissed."

"But the energy weapons…?" Tevos said coldly. "I suppose the hierarchy wanted to be the first to analyse and mass-produce those weapons for their own use before the rest of us, by assimilating these _Humans_ as a client race?"

"Unacceptable behaviour as allies true…" Xalien unexpectedly moved to support Martellus. "…but politically-speaking and from the perspective of the hierarchy's own interests first before the Council's, it's an understandable decision. The Union would probably have done the same thing in the same situation. As for the republics…"

Xalian paused and turned his attention to Tevos. "…can you say with complete certainty that the republics would _not_ seek to be the first to mass-produce those weapons, and for a time have a monopoly on them?" he asked.

Tevos took a deep breath and a long moment to gather her thoughts before giving a reply. The knowledge of what was hidden in the Temple of Athame on Thessia rose to haunt her, and she conceded the point. "No…" she finally said. "…I suppose not."

Martellus nodded his thanks to Xalian, who asked the next question. "So what happened next?" the Salarian said.

"The Humans reinforced their frontier world approximately five days ago." Martellus replied. "Not unexpected to be honest, General Arterius who commanded the ground forces expressed his respect for the Human garrison in his reports. Solid and professional, he described them."

"How much reinforcement are we talking about here?" Tevos asked, and Martellus' face turned grim.

"The initial patrol Admiral Lucius had under his command numbered less than fifty ships." He said. "However as per standard procedure in hostile territory _and_ General Arterius' recommendations, the patrol was reinforced into a full fleet. Two hundred ships, albeit with no dreadnoughts save for the admiral's flagship, the _Iron Resolve_."

"And the Humans…?"

"The last communication from the fleet was quickly cut off by heavy interference." Martellus said. "It only mentioned that the Human reinforcements badly-outnumbered them. No contact has been made since then, and Hierarchy Command has since decided to assume the worst."

For several moments there was silence, and then Tevos sighed. "So the Humans exercised their right to self-defence." She said. "We can't really blame them for that, though the destruction of a fleet and a legion will prove problematic. Hopefully though, this situation can be resolved without further bloodshed."

The other councillors nodded, and then Martellus sighed. "While I am in agreement with that sentiment…" he said. "…Hierarchy Command has asked that we recognize a state of war between Citadel Space and the Human state. Note that this is not a unanimous decision on the part of the Council of Primarchs, but a narrow majority, and one which the opposition is seeking to have reconsidered."

"In other words…" Xalian said. "…you want us to outvote you, and have the Council provide informal support for the peace faction among the primarchs."

"Yes." Martellus said with a nod. "I'm not afraid to send soldiers to die on the battlefield, but that doesn't mean I particularly _want_ to. Thankfully so far a full mobilization has been deferred thanks to the efforts of the opposition, at least until the Council offers its support. It's a symbolic gesture, and it won't last long, but if we can back up the peace faction in that short amount of time, then perhaps we can get out of this without a war."

"On the other hand though…" Xalian murmured. "…that assumes that the Humans would want peace. If they don't…"

"…then we'll just have to take responsibility for it." Martellus said. "But if that's the case, then the Hierarchy's standing forces should be able to hold until the rest of the hierarchy has mobilized, and the same goes for the union and the republics. In the meantime, we should make every effort we can for peace."

"Is that the hierarchy's opinion?"

"Well, I'll probably be assigned gubernatorial duty on a frontier world for failing to get Council support…" Martellus said with a sigh. "…but at least I'll know that I managed to prevent a full-scale war. Assuming we get peace of course."

"I see." Tevos said with a nod, and shared a glance with Xalian. "I'm sorry to hear that, and if that's the case, there's a good chance that your successor will be less…diplomatic."

Martellus merely closed his eyes briefly, and Tevos sighed. "Very well then…" she said. "…let us now put to a vote the request by the Turian Hierarchy for a general resolution of a state of war between Citadel Space and the Human state. Should the resolution pass this Council, it will then be passed onto our respective governments for further action. All in favour…?"

Martellus raised his hand, while Tevos and Xalian did not. The Turian nodded his thanks, and Tevos nodded back. "All against…?" she said. She raised her hand, as did Salian. "The proposal for a general resolution of a state of war between Citadel Space and the Human state is rejected. I propose therefore that we send a diplomatic mission to the contested region of space, to begin peace negotiations."

"The let us put it to vote." Xalian said. "All in favour…?"

Martellus stayed put, while Tevos and Xalian raised their hands. "All against…?" Xalian asked, and Martellus raised his hand. Tevos and Xalian did not. "Very well, the Council votes to send a diplomatic mission to the Human state for the purpose of cessation of hostilities. We will now inform our governments of this development, unless there are further matters for deliberation in this session of the Citadel Council."

He looked at his colleagues, and nodded. "Then let us adjourn." He said.

* * *

The bay doors along the _Konigs Tiger_ 's flank slid open, allowing the shuttle to enter at a gentle pace and approach the airlock. With the grinding of docking clamps and hissing of equalizing pressure, the shuttle docked with the airlock. From there it took barely a minute for the safety lights to flash green, and the airlock doors slid open.

General Desolas Arterius and his adjutant stepped from the shuttle and down the boarding ramp. Before them a twin file of Imperial naval arms-men in black uniforms with silver rank markings along their cuffs stood at attention on either side of the ramp, and at the end waited another Human. That one's uniform was more elaborately-decorated, with silver bands with three silver bars decorating his shoulders and elaborate silver embroidery decorating his chest: clearly a high-ranking officer of some sort.

"General Arterius…" the officer said as Desolas and his adjutant approached, and throwing a salute. The general and his adjutant returned it of course. "…welcome aboard the flagship _Konigs Tiger_. I am Admiral Greiss, chief of staff to His Excellency Galactic Imperial Space Fleet Commander Fleet Admiral Fritz Josef Bittenfeld."

"Thank you, admiral." Desolas said with a nod. "I am General Desolas Arterius, commander of the 45th Legion of the Turian Hierarchy."

Greiss nodded. "If you would follow me please…" he said, indicating the elevators in the distance. "…I will escort you to His Excellency."

The general nodded, and the admiral smartly-turned and walked away, the general and the adjutant following in his wake along with a pair of guards. Behind them they heard an Imperial NCO barking orders and the honour guard trooping away.

The section of the ship to which the elevator took them caught the general by surprise though. Instead of the unadorned, metal surfaces to be expected from a spacefaring vessel, they found wood-panelled walls and carpeted floors, something that might be expected from a planet-side hotel or retreat, not a military vessel.

The admiral didn't seem in the least perturbed by it, indicating it was a usual sight about Imperial warships. Desolas didn't know what to think about that, the Humans were clearly disciplined soldiers but such…opulence perhaps, aboard a military vessel was in stark contrast to his earlier assumptions.

 _Assumptions…that word led to the deaths of thousands of Turian soldiers and sailors, and may yet start a full-scale interstellar war._

 _Keep your mind open Desolas, they've earned your respect already, so give their cultural differences a chance._

The admiral led them to a stateroom, a pair of guards waiting by its doors. Both of them saluted as the general's party approached, and then stood at ease as the doors opened. The admiral invited the general and his adjutant to enter, and then followed after them.

The guards that had accompanied them from the docking bay and the ones guarding the room stayed outside.

Entering the room, Desolas found a man waiting for them, rising as they entered. He was tall, wearing the standard black and silver uniform of the empire, but lacking the silver shoulder-bands of his chief of staff. Flourished diagonals decorated his collar however, and gold tassels hung from the embroidered silver decorations over his shoulder blades. A black cape hung over his shoulders.

"Fleet Admiral Bittenfeld…" Desolas said, giving a salute, the words automatically-translated before being broadcast to the earpiece the fleet admiral – and others who needed it – was wearing. "…thank you for this invitation to meet with you."

"The honour is mine." Bittenfeld said while returning the salute, and then gesturing for the general to take his seat. The general did as invited, his adjutant stepping back to stand against the wall behind the general. On the opposite side of the room, Admiral Greiss took his place against the wall with a junior officer that was probably the fleet admiral's aide.

"Normally I would offer you a drink…" Bittenfeld began as he took his seat. "…but according to the data we've analysed you Turians would find our food indigestible at best and poisonous at worst. My apologies…"

"Thank you for being considerate, admiral." Desolas said with a nod. "So I assume you wish to talk to me as an equal, to discuss matters relating to the galaxy at large?"

"How astute…" Bittenfeld said with a smile. "…I would not insult you by asking for confidential matters. I'll leave that to Fellner and his pet psychopaths…"

 _Fellner…I'm guessing that's the man behind the Humans' intelligence apparatus. And from the sound of things the fleet admiral doesn't like the man much._

"…according to our data though…" Bittenfeld was saying. "…you Turians are the 'peacekeepers' of this Citadel Council of yours. And yet here you are, having started a war with our empire. Rather an unusual state of affairs, wouldn't you agree?"

Desolas didn't answer at once. "Admiral…" he finally said. "…I presume you've already learned about the Rachni War?"

"The Rachni War…?" Bittenfeld echoed. "Ah yes…a war about two thousand years ago between the Council and an enemy which refused to not only negotiate but also to surrender, and forcing the Council to commit genocide. Seeing as your people weren't involved in that war though, I won't apologize if I'll express certain doubts on the empire's part about the Council's ultimate decision, at least until we can confirm the facts on our own."

Desolas opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it. " _Well…_ " he said. " _…it's as he said, we weren't involved in what happened to Rachni. If they want to doubt the Council about that then let them. I'm sure they'll come to the same conclusion as we did when they examine the facts._ "

"I understand the reasoning behind the prohibition behind the activation of those warp gates of yours…" Bittenfeld said.

 _Warp gates…is that what their FTL is called?_

"…however attacking when the one on the other side is clearly not hostile – at least at first glance – does it not put you in the same position as the Rachni did the Council at the time?"

"I understand what you're saying admiral." Desolas said. "However from what I recall Admiral Lucius initially-believed the activation of the relay was being committed by criminals, and not an alien race."

"And yet you continued with aggressive actions, even when it became clear that we were not in fact 'criminals', but a race and nation of our own."

Desolas allowed a bit of shame to appear on his face. "The admiral…assumed…" he said. "…he assumed you were just a new spacefaring race, and that you would be best served by becoming a client race of the Turian Hierarchy. And when it was discovered you possessed energy weapons, that decision was further driven by a desire for those same weapons."

"Assumptions are a dangerous thing, general." Bittenfeld said. He paused, and then he sighed. "There was once a man you know. Having slipped past an enemy fleet and destroyed another, intoxicated by imminent victory he assumed the fleet he slipped by was too busy to react and tried to turn to attack from the rear. Instead while turning his fleet was ripped to shreds, and left too weak to play a vital role when it was needed."

Bittenfeld sat back, an arm draped over the couch's back, his face unreadable. "Later on that same man…" he said. "…he assumed that the enemy being greatly-outnumbered would be easy prey, charged into a narrow position and allowed his fleet to be decimated in a trap. He escaped with his life, but his friend and comrade died in the rear-guard."

For a few moments Bittenfeld and Desolas were silent. Eventually however, Desolas broke the silence. "And what happened to that man?" he asked softly.

Bittenfeld smiled wryly. "He survived." He said. "He grew old, and learned a few things from his mistakes. It's ironic, as better men among his comrades died before him. Even a scoundrel who he hated earned a place in Valhalla before him."

 _Kircheis, Kempff, Lennenkampf, Fahrenheit, Steinmetz, Lutz, Reuenthal, Mein Kaiser…they've all gone away ahead of us all. And that scoundrel Oberstein too, though I didn't think he had the balls to actually give his life for His Majesty._

 _Ha…just another mistaken assumption on my part…_

"I'm sorry to hear that admiral."

"Don't be…" Bittenfeld said. "…they died good, honourable deaths. I – and they – would have preferred not to die at all, but we're all soldiers. We expect to meet that fate if we have to."

Desolas nodded his agreement. After a moment Bittenfeld spoke up again. "You can see where I'm getting at here, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes I can." Desolas agreed. "It's too late now I suppose, but I can still take it as a lesson for the future."

 _Even if I'll most likely never command a field command again, after I surrendered._

Bittenfeld nodded at that. "Then…?" he asked. "Where do we go from here? Or rather, what should we expect from your government…? The empire would seek peace rather than war, but we will fight if we have to. The question is: will it be necessary?"

Desolas swallowed and thought for several moments. If it were just the Hierarchy, there was probably a good chance that it would go to war against the Humans' Galactic Empire. The destruction of a fleet and the surrender of a legion demanded nothing less.

 _And it would end with our destruction. Somehow I doubt this fleet is_ _ **all**_ _of the empire's might._

But the Hierarchy wasn't alone. It was a member of the Citadel Council, and could count on their support. Of course, such a war could end up with mutual annihilation at worst, and as a pyrrhic victory at best.

But then again: the Asari would always seek diplomacy before war, and the Salarians would rather have time to gather information and prepare plans before going to war.

"I cannot guarantee this…" Desolas finally said. "…but I would say that the Council would likely seek peace first before going to war, and will pressure the Hierarchy to give peace a chance."

"Is that so?" Bittenfeld said.

"That's my reasoned opinion on the matter."

For a few moments the two flag officers stared at each other, and then Bittenfeld barked out a short burst of laughter. "Good…!" he said. "That means I didn't waste time and resources sending down those people sent by the State Ministry."

Desolas chuckled, recognizing in the admiral the same disregard common among Turian soldiers for bureaucrats. "Now that that's out of the way general…" Bittenfeld said while relaxing to an extent. "…how long have you been serving, general? You seem like an old warhorse, much like old man Muckenberger."

Desolas blinked, and then chuckled. So the admiral was curious about him, was he?

 _Well I suppose I could share a few war stories._

* * *

Rear Admiral Ehrenstahl sat on his command throne, penning a letter home to his wife. He was well-aware that as a commander he was fairly average, that his achieving flag officer rank was a matter of personnel assignment, and his current rank would probably be the highest he would achieve before retiring.

Not that he actually cared of course. He knew his place, and while he had ambition he was also aware that there were others more skilled and more deserving of higher rank than he was.

He was satisfied with fulfilling the duties of his station to the best of his ability, and the government wasn't lacking when it came to recognizing and rewarding that fact.

Why be greedy?

As the admiral continued writing his letter, an alarm began sounding at the sensor station. "What is it?" the battleship's captain asked from his station at the base of the command deck.

"The alien FTL device has gone active!" the crewman manning the station reported.

"What?" the captain said, while the admiral set his pen and paper aside.

"Calm down." He ordered. "Inform the vice admiral and the fleet admiral. Signal all ships to go to alert as well."

"Yes sir."

The admiral looked at the tactical display as his officers went about fulfilling his orders. The Mauser Fleet was on rear guard duty, divided into four groups. The main fleet under Vice Admiral Mauser's command, numbering five thousand ships was on tactical reserve, hanging back five light-seconds from the device.

The rest of the fleet was divided into three wings with two thousand ships each, in a diamond formation aimed at the device. Two wings were to the left and right of the main fleet, four light-seconds from the device, while the last wing was to the front, three light-seconds from the device. The three wings shifted their positions regularly, though the main fleet remained relatively stationary.

It was just their luck that Ehrenstahl's command would be on point duty when the aliens arrived.

"Energy surge detected from the device." The sensor crewman reported. "One ship detected, approximately point oh-two light-seconds from the device."

"Only one ship…?" Ehrenstahl's adjutant said in surprise.

"Open a channel." The admiral ordered. "Make sure the translator software is active."

"Yes sir."

A few moments later and an image appeared on the tactical display. The alien on the screen was different from the Turians, clearly feminine with blue skin and what looked like tentacles on her head, along with crimson facial tattoos.

"This is Rear Admiral Ehrenstahl of the Imperial Fleet." The admiral said. "Unidentified vessel, you have entered sovereign Imperial territory. Identify yourselves and your business within this star system."

"Admiral, I am Matriarch Niala." The alien said. "I am here on behalf of the Citadel Council along with a multiracial diplomatic team, to arbitrate an end to hostilities between the Turian Hierarchy and the Human state."

"Understood…" the admiral said. "…standby…"

He gestured, and the line was cut. "Contact Admiral Mauser…" he ordered. "…inform him of the situation."

"Yes sir."

It was several minutes before a reply came back. "Sir…" a crewman said as he ran up to the command deck. "…according to Admiral Mauser we are to allow the Council diplomatic team passage to Shanxi, however the fleet is to maintain position around the device."

The admiral nodded, and then ordered for the line with the aliens to be reopened. "Matriarch…" he said. "…you have permission to make for the planet Shanxi to begin peace negotiations with Imperial representatives. Please keep in mind that while you possess diplomatic immunity, this region is still technically a warzone, so I would advise avoiding any potentially provocative or aggressive actions."

"I understand admiral." The alien said. "Rest assured, we too wish only to avoid further bloodshed on either of our parts."

The admiral nodded, and the line was cut. "Sir…" a crewman reported. "…the aliens are moving."

"Let them through." The admiral said. "But keep an eye on them while they're in our area of responsibility."

"Yes sir."

The admiral sighed and reclined his command throne. "I'm glad that the Turians or at least their allies are willing to seek peace…" he said, staring up at the star-scape depicted on the screens above the bridge. "…but still, blue-skinned alien women…? The universe has a sense of humour it seems."

"Sir...?"

The admiral turned his eyes to his adjutant. "I take it you've never encountered science fiction like _Galaktische Saga_ before, lieutenant…?" he asked.

The lieutenant blinked and then his eyes widened with realization. "I see your point sir." He said.

The admiral chuckled. "I thought you would." He said.

* * *

A/N

Gasp…! The Council being reasonable…! It's unthinkable! Is it really?

Sparatus and Valern aren't councillors yet. I don't see anything indicating they were councillors at the time of the First Contact War in canon, so I assume they aren't. Personally given the number of years between ME and the FCW, I imagine Sparatus would still be too young or inexperienced to hold such a senior post at the time of the FCW. As for Valern, assuming he had the experience to be councillor at the time of the FCW, he should be too old or dying at the time of ME because you know, Salarians.

Kudos if you can recognize who Bittenfeld was talking about, and what Ehrenstahl's figurative woes are about.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 6

"Goddess…"

"Spirits…"

And utter silence…for the members of the diplomatic team dispatched by the Council, those were the three most common reactions at the sight that met them as they emerged from FTL approximately a hundred and fifty thousand kilometres from the planet the Humans called Shanxi. And hanging in high orbit around the planet was a fleet of approximately thirty thousand ships, while in high orbit around its moon was another fleet, numbering between thirteen to seventeen thousand ships.

One of the bridge officers paled – as much as an Asari could – as she drew up the data from when they emerged from the relay. At the time she thought it a sensor error, possibly caused by enemy ECM. She ran a diagnostic, and then scanned the space around the planet.

The sensor data didn't change. She ran the diagnostic again, and scanned space again. Again, the sensor data didn't change.

She ran a diagnostic on the diagnostic, and scanned again. There was no error.

The data on the fleet guarding the relay must be accurate too.

"Captain…" she said, breaking the stunned silence. "…there were approximately eleven thousand ships guarding the relay. Between those and the ships here, the Humans have approximately sixty thousand ships in-system."

"That's impossible." The captain breathed, unable to believe it herself. "It could be a sensor error this is a warzone after all, possibly…"

"With all due respect ma'am…" the sensor officer said. "…I've run diagnostics twice on the sensors, and once on the diagnostic itself. And our sensors include the most advanced ECCM the Salarians have. There's no error, unless the Humans have better ECM than they do."

"But…" the captain said. "…so many ships…the cost in Element Zero alone needed for their mass effect cores would be astronomical!"

"Unless…" Matriarch Niala said softly. "…as the Turians suspected, they really don't use Element Zero."

"That's impossible." The captain breathed. "How could they travel faster-than-light, to say nothing of provide artificial gravity among others, without it?"

"Obviously they've found different solutions to those problems." A Salarian said. "Though there is also the possibility that most of those 'ships' are decoys, and they could be masking their mass effect signatures. Balloons maybe…? Holograms…?"

"If they are…" the sensor officer said. "…then they're very good ones. Optical analysis of reflected light from both the solar primary and the planet indicate that they are bouncing off metal hulls…"

"We need more data…" the Salarian diplomat abruptly said, looking to his staff gathered around him. A few of them were STG operatives, and without a word or gesture they quietly left to analyse the sensor data. "…though if those truly are what they seem to be, then Human industry could potentially be greater than the Council's own."

"Is that even possible?" an Asari diplomat asked.

"It has to be." A Turian diplomat replied. "Even if we assume not all of those are warships, the size of the Human fleets would still be far greater than any fielded by any known race, even the Krogan during the rebellions. But behind a battle fleet is an even bigger merchant fleet, both to supply the front line and to keep the economy going. And shipbuilding industries do not stand alone. Metallurgy, electronics, fuel extraction and refining…those are just a few industries that shipbuilding industries must work with in order to function."

He gestured at the screen. "Even if this is all of the Humans' battle fleet…" he said. "…and I doubt that, then the industry needed to build and maintain it would have to be enormous. And those industries connected to shipbuilding…? They have other industries connected to them too."

"And considering that most elements needed for ship-grade alloys, polymers, and ceramics are very common even when not compared to Element Zero…" Matriarch Niala said with a note of worry. "…well there's one reason how they can have so many ships."

"Perhaps 'Galactic Empire' isn't as pretentious a title as we'd like to think." Another Turian diplomat said darkly. "The growth of such vast industry would only be accompanied by the proportionate growth of a population, both as a labour force to support it, and to provide a market for what it produces."

"Agreed…" the Salarian diplomat from earlier said with a nod. "…also, it would be both natural and logical to assume that with such a large number of ships at their disposal, exploration would be more common for them than for us. Also, they are unbound by Council restrictions with regards to exploration – though we'd need more information about their FTL before that factor can be fully-accounted for – and terraforming. Both factors would allow for a greater number of garden worlds – both natural and otherwise – and resource sites in their territory to support their population and industry both."

"Considering the assumed scale of their industry…" the Turian diplomat said. "…and the fact that frontier troops were armed with energy weapons, perhaps it wouldn't be too much to assume that those warships are armed with energy weapons of their own either."

"Let's not assume too much people…" Matriarch Niala said. "…assumptions are what started this mess. Nevertheless just from what we've seen so far, we _can_ assume that their technology isn't based on Element Zero, their industry and population are greater than ours, and at the least their territory is as big as Citadel Space."

"A conservative estimate in my opinion…" the Salarian diplomat said.

"My point is…" the matriarch said. "…a war would obviously be not in our best interests. We are agreed on that at least, are we not?"

There were nods at the matriarch's question, and she continued after a brief moment. "Therefore…" she said. "…we should make an effort to get the Humans to join the Council. That is the best solution to the problem, both the gap between us and them, and that with their apparent strategic advantages, they would be seen as a…alarming external force to the body politic of our constituents."

"With that said though…" the Turian diplomat asked. "…would they even _want_ to join the Council, given their strategic advantages as you said?"

"Probably not…" the matriarch conceded. "…but we should try at least. Failing that, peace with honour with the Hierarchy, and diplomacy and trade should be our goals. Diplomacy will help ease the tensions over time, while trade will help close the strategic gap between us."

The Salarian diplomat nodded. "Agreed…" he said. "…trade alone will provide opportunities to gain examples of Human technology for study, as well as information about Human cultural, political, and other aspects. All information is useful, one way or another, we just have to find out when and where to use it. Suffice to say peace in general will allow for ample time and opportunity to close the gap."

"There's just one thing that's bothering me…" an Asari diplomat asked. "…considering how big the Galactic Empire apparently is, the only reason we didn't encounter them up until now is undoubtedly because the galaxy is even _bigger_. With that said…"

"How do we know there aren't other civilizations out there?" the matriarch concluded, and the younger Asari nodded. The diplomats and their staff, as well as the bridge crew of the diplomatic vessel all looked uneasily at each other, but no one could bring themselves to answer the question.

They didn't.

* * *

Jason Miles sighed as he waited for the alien ship to land on the tarmac before him.

The aliens' ship had been allowed to enter orbit, and from there through video communications with Count Drachenstein it had been agreed that they would be allowed to descend to the surface. However negotiations would be postponed for another day, to allow the aliens to peruse the First Contact data the Imperials would be providing them.

That had been yesterday, and now negotiations would begin. In an apparent gesture of goodwill, the aliens had agreed to descend to the surface and negotiate with the empire on their territory. Among the diplomatic team from the Ministry of State, the count had ordered lots to be drawn to determine who would accompany the honour guard provided by the Imperial Fleet to welcome the visitors, and escort them to the negotiations.

Jason cursed inwardly as he made a final check of his pants and frock coat, coloured a serviceable brown, and carefully straightened his cravat. The alien shuttle landed with surprising – and unnerving – quiet, compared to the heavy landings of Human vessels.

Air hissed as the shuttle's airlock equalized the pressure, and the shuttle doors opened. "Present arms…!" the NCO shouted, and with the sound of boots striking the ground in sync, the Imperial honour guard came to attention. The alien party numbered ten, apparently three each from the Council races, along with their leader, one Matriarch Niala, effectively giving the Asari four members in the diplomatic team.

Jason straightened, and took a step forward as the aliens approached. "Matriarch Niala…" he said, fighting to keep his expression calm and his feelings internalized. Aliens…they were…well, alien, and yet they were so _similar_ to Humans. It felt…wrong to Jason, especially the Asari, as though someone had taken a Human and… _changed_ it in ways that shouldn't be. "…welcome to Shanxi. My name is Jason Miles, a member of the Imperial Diplomatic Corps."

 _The Imperial Diplomatic Corps…a fancy name for a group that number less than half a hundred people thrown together in short notice by the Ministry of State and other agencies._

"Greetings Jason Miles…" the Asari said, the alien's language sounding beautiful but in a forbidden, alien way to Jason's ears and he silently thanked the cold, synthetic voice of the translation from his earpiece. "…I thank you and your superiors for having taken the effort to meet us at our arrival."

Jason nodded. "Count Drachenstein sends his regards." He said, gesturing to several vehicles waiting behind me. "If you would follow me matriarch, we can proceed to our destination."

"We would be honoured to follow your lead." The matriarch said with a reassuring smile. It didn't reassure him at all, and he bowed before turning to hide the expression of distaste that threatened to show on his face.

 _Aliens…it's just a word. The reality is much, much worse._

* * *

It had been three days since peace negotiations with the Humans had begun, and the Council was in session again. They sat in silence, perusing the latest reports sent back by their diplomats, and various 'specialists' embedded among them.

"So the Humans are pressing for reparations…" Martellus finally said, breaking the silence. "…and are also refusing to join the Council. I'm not surprised, considering all the advantages they have over us there's nothing for them to gain by joining."

"On the other side of that though is fear and mistrust of the Humans and their Galactic Empire among our constituents, fed by their refusing to integrate with the galactic community." Tevos chimed in. "Surely they have to be aware of that."

"Even if they are…" Martellus said wryly. "…it's not like we pose a real threat to them at this point. Even recovering from this…Long War of theirs, their industry – based on the general data provided by their First Contact package – alone surpasses ours by a factor of ten. Population-wise we outnumber them at present, but given typical recovery rates for post-war populations in general they'll be able to catch up in a decade or two and surpass us within another. Territory-wise we have more worlds than they do, but they have a greater ratio of developed worlds to undeveloped ones than we do. And that ratio will further increase – as will their territory, population, and industry – as they recover from their recent war."

"This Long War of theirs though…" Xalian said. "…it ended with the Galactic Empire conquering the Free Planets Alliance. The latter was apparently a representative democracy, the political opposite of the autocratic empire. There is political reform on-going within the empire at present, but perhaps we might be able to stir up internal dissent should it prove necessary."

"And right now that isn't…" Tevos said firmly. "…as you say there is on-going political reform within the empire. I can say with near-certainty that the Asari Republics will not countenance stirring up internal dissent within a sovereign state – and one as dangerous as the empire is – while a chance for peaceful coexistence is possible."

"Do you believe there is?"

"I certainly do." Martellus said. "They're tired of war, it only barely being a decade since war's end. And considering the circumstances, they're being quite generous in their demands: reparations, diplomatic recognition, a consulate here on the Citadel, and further negotiations at a later date with regards to trade between the empire and Citadel Space."

"I am of the same opinion." Tevos said. "They might not be willing to sign the Treaty of Farixen – though considering the size of their fleets and the capability behind them it would be insulting to think they would – but they have offered to sign and ratify the Citadel Conventions. Compromise is possible, and that is proof enough for me to give peace a chance."

"'Very well…" Xalian said, conceding the point. "…in any case peaceful coexistence will still allow for penetration of agents and acquisition of technology for study. However this FTL of theirs…warp…don't you find it disturbing?"

Martellus shrugged. "We reduce mass down to nothing when we use the relays." He said. "I'd say that's as disturbing as warping space-time to travel faster than light. And the Humans have been using warp for over a thousand years haven't they? With that said though…"

Martellus paused and leaned forward. "That in fact may be the key to equalling them." He said.

Xalian thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes…" he agreed. "…Human industry is not limited by Element Zero supplies. If we can unlock warp travel on our own, then we too should be able to expand our industry to match theirs. It would take time of course the Humans have had over a thousand years to develop their technology…"

" _Goddess…_ " Tevos thought as she watched Martellus and Xalian discuss the potential of warp technology. " _…these Humans might well herald the end of Asari technological supremacy in the galaxy. But what choice do we have? Even if we try and stir up trouble in the empire, there's no guarantee it would work given the on-going reforms, and it risks discovery. And right now the Council has no chance of winning against the empire if it comes to war, the best we could get is a draw by stretching their logistics out across the galaxy._ "

Tevos sighed and rubbed her brow. " _Still…_ " she thought. " _…even if we have to play catch-up, even if we can't count on the beacon inside the temple to give us a head start, our scientists are still among the best minds in the galaxy. Asari technological supremacy won't be given up without a fight._ "

"Seeing as there's clearly more to gain through peaceful coexistence between us and the empire…" she said aloud, and interrupting Xalian and Martellus' dialogue. "…shall we put to a vote whether or not we should have our diplomats agree to the empire's terms?"

Xalian frowned. "I would present a counteroffer to the empire's demand for a diplomatic presence on the Citadel." He said. "An office on the Presidium has traditionally been granted only to full and associate members of the Council. As the empire is neither, their consulate should be located on one of the wards instead."

Martellus nodded slowly. "I agree." He said. "We don't want war, but we don't want to look weak either. An office in the wards will give the empire their desired diplomatic presence, while allowing the Council to demonstrate its authority within its own domain."

Tevos nodded slowly in agreement. "A good point…" she said. "…apart from that counteroffer, shall there be any further objections to the current set of terms?"

There were none, and the proposed vote was carried through by all three councillors. "Splendid…" Tevos said. "…a unanimous vote it is."

Martellus chuckled. "And what a rare thing that is." He said, and Tevos chuckled in her turn.

"It truly is." She said.

"Not all the primarchs will be happy at being made to give reparations…" Martellus remarked. "…though given the opposition already recognizes the hierarchy in the wrong in this matter, it won't be as divisive as it would be expected to be. Also, even among the pro-war faction most will see the point in time to prepare and close the gap should it prove necessary to come to blows with the empire."

Xalian nodded. "I can all but guarantee the same for the Dalatrass." He said.

Tevos nodded. "We should also have our diplomats invite the empire to sign the Citadel Conventions here at the Citadel." She said. "If they accept, it would allow the empire to show a face to our constituents, while showing them – the empire – the pinnacle of the galactic community. While I doubt the empire will want to join for a long time yet, it wouldn't hurt to take a step in that direction."

The other councillors nodded their agreement. "With that…" she said. "…this session of the Council is adjourned."

* * *

"It's time." Felix Mittermeier murmured from his seat while looking at his watch.

Alex nodded his agreement, as did Baroness Galatea von Westfalen. All around them the other students quieted down as the school auditorium's lights dimmed, and the holographic projector displayed the Lohengramm crest. It had been announced earlier this morning that within the day the Imperial Regent would be making a public address, resulting in Alex getting mobbed by his fellow students for what it would be about.

He told them he didn't know of course, though none of them actually believed that, forcing first Felix, then Galatea, and eventually the security and school personnel to step in.

Not that Alex could blame them for their disbelief: he knew what it was about, as did Felix (only because Alex had told him after the fleets had launched over a month ago).

He'd also told Galatea, though by then she'd already known.

 _Mother talks quite a bit loudly when she's with her friends, including your mother, my dear Emperor._

" _Gossiping noblewomen…_ " Alex thought at the memory of how Galatea had found out. " _…what loose tongues they have…not that I'd say that aloud near Galatea._ "

He glanced at the fiancée, who noticed and raised a platinum-blonde eyebrow in response. He shook his head. She didn't buy it, making to say something only to be cut off as a warning sound sounded before the hologram shifted, showing the Imperial Regent standing on a podium, with the golden lion on red of the Lohengramm Dynasty behind her.

"Citizens of the empire…" Hilda began. "…I am Hildegard von Lohengramm, Dowager Empress and Imperial Regent to His Majesty, Emperor Alexander Siegfried the First. Today, I come before you bearing news of great import for Humanity."

Alex winced at the mention of his full name, his friends smirking at his discomfort. "The question of whether we are alone in this universe has been answered." Hilda continued. "Over a month ago on June 28th New Imperial Calendar 16, an alien force encountered a number of our research ships in the Shanxi System, Frontier Starzone A-51. Due to mistaken circumstances, the aliens, who identify themselves as the Turians, attacked and destroyed our research ships before launching an invasion of our frontier settlement."

Murmuring and whispers of shock – at the existence of aliens – and outrage – at the aliens' aggression – filled the auditorium. "We express our condolences to the families of the dead scientists, the crews of their ships, and the soldiers stationed at the frontier." Hilda said. "It was in response to this unprovoked attack on our sovereignty that the Imperial Fleet under the command of His Excellency Fleet Admiral Fritz Josef Bittenfeld was dispatched on July 1st New Imperial Calendar 16."

"The fleet dispatch…? Wasn't that supposed to be for an exercise?"

"They kept it quiet until they had something to show eh?"

"A lot of ships left that day. Ha…those damn aliens want a fight then we'll give them one!"

"We're the Galactic Empire…! We won't lose so easily!"

"Could they really be aliens? What if it's just like the old alliance?"

"Is it another war again? Gods, please no, I don't want to die."

The comments eventually died down, the Empress continuing to speak. "…I am pleased to announce that our fleet was able to force the invaders to surrender with a minimum of bloodshed…" she said, causing a number of cheers to break out in the auditorium.

The cheers died down the Empress described the aliens, their culture and government based on captured data. She also revealed the existence of the greater galaxy, of the Citadel Council, and the other spacefaring races known to exist. "…even as we speak…" Hilda said. "…our diplomats are working with their Council counterparts to bring about a peaceful resolution to this conflict. Our empire has only recently-emerged from a long and exhausting war and it is not our desire to plunge into yet another…"

" _Here it comes…_ " Alex thought. Unlike the existence of aliens, Felix and Galatea hadn't been told of this other development born of recent circumstances.

"…however given certain considerations…" Hilda said. "…it is our conclusion that it is not in the empire's best interests to enter into this Citadel Council. While we would seek peace and coexistence with the Council and its members, Humanity and the empire would be better served seeking its destiny on its own. However as the old adage says: united we stand divided we fall."

Galatea narrowed her eyes, and then widened them in realization. "Her Majesty…" she whispered. "…could it be…?"

"Clever girl…" Alex murmured, the baroness glancing at the Emperor with her sea-grey eyes. He didn't flinch, and she looked back to the projection.

"…in the upcoming regional elections in November…" Hilda continued. "…I am pleased to announce that in addition to electing new senators and other elected officials for the empire's starzones, the empire will be electing representatives for a National Assembly for the purpose of drafting a charter for the Galactic Empire."

Alex nodded at the alteration his mother had made to his proposal. He'd proposed that the current set of regional senators, planetary governors and councillors would remain in office until the first general elections after the drafting of the Imperial Charter, but his mother had felt that it would be better if the empire followed the form of the law as it was, and elected new regional officials alongside those of the first National Assembly.

Murmurs and whispers of mixed surprise, disbelief, and shock among other sentiments filled the auditorium. "Further details of the coming National Assembly will be announced by the Ministries of State and the Interior within the week…" Hilda continued. "…however it is planned that the National Assembly will convene by February of the following year…"

"Constitutional monarchy…" Galatea said softly. "…are we really ready for it?"

"No…" Alex said. "…we're not. At least not _full_ constitutional monarchy…but we can take a few steps towards it. And besides: as a compromise it works well to further bring the republicans alongside, no?"

"True…" Galatea agreed. "…and I can't imagine Her Majesty not taking steps to ensure that the coming National Assembly will serve the empire's interests best, and not simply the reactionary desires of politicians, whether they be republicans or otherwise."

"Father named her regent for a reason." Alex agreed, watching as his mother gave way to an Imperial chamberlain, who began answering questions from the newsmen present. The first questions of course were over the 'mistaken circumstances' that led to fighting erupting in the first place, and from there to specifics as to why the empire would not be served by joining the Council.

Needless to say, the idea of surrendering a portion of the empire's sovereignty to foreigners – or rather _aliens_ – wasn't an appealing one to either the newsmen or the viewers, not just among the Emperor's schoolmates, but across the empire as a whole, viewing as they did the Empress' speech via hyperspace communications. The empire and the former alliance had their differences, but those differences were bridged by the proto-constitutional reforms of the late Emperor Reinhard, federalization by his wife, and imminent constitutional reform. And of course, Human psychology being what it was, fear of the unknown represented by the alien, led to a tightened embrace of the familiar, and the ideological rivalry between autocracy and republicanism grew blurred against the idea of the common interest of Humanity as a species.

* * *

Hilda read the transcript of the Council's counteroffer sent from Shanxi, and sat back against her chair. "The Council's position is understandable…" she said. "…they do not wish to appear weak, so they would not allow us to place our consulate alongside the embassies of their members. At the same time, they would not wish to antagonize us, so they would still grant us a permanent diplomatic presence on the Citadel."

"Then Your Majesty…?"

Hilda nodded. "The Council's proposal is acceptable." She said. "We will accept it. With regards to the invitation to sign the Citadel Conventions at the Citadel itself however…"

Minister Braque tilted his head. "You would reject it…?" he asked.

"No…" Hilda said after a moment's thought. "…in the interests of better relations we'll accept it. However have the diplomatic team inform their counterparts that both the signing of the conventions and further negotiations with regards to trade will have to wait until after the empire drafts its constitution."

"Yes Your Majesty."

"Only a fool would tend to another's fire…" the Empress said, rising to look out of a window. "…while his house burns down, after all. Let's stabilize the empire first, before letting foreign affairs draw our attention, more than is necessary."

"Perhaps we ought to open our consulate at the same time we sign the conventions…?" the minister asked. "It would work well as a gesture to the Council's constituents that while we stand apart from them, we are not their enemies."

Hilda considered for a few moments, and then nodded. "An excellent idea, Minister of State." She said with a smile. "Very well, send that to our diplomats as well."

Braque bowed, and Hilda nodded. "Enter." She said as a knock came at her door. An Imperial chamberlain entered at her command.

"Your Majesty…" he said. "…the Heinessen Autonomous Government has convened its governing council to discuss your proposal however our consul on Heinessen indicates that Chairwoman Greenhill-Yang has expressed positive reception among her colleagues and citizens both of your proposal. The consul states that most likely, the HAG will make an official statement by late this evening at the latest, and a positive one at that."

Hilda sighed with relief. "Well if those diehard republicans are willing to compromise…" she said. "…then that can only be a good omen for more to come."

"Yes Your Majesty."

* * *

A/N

Did you expect the Council to go 'Ia…! Ia…! Humans fthagn…!'…?

Common citizens would probably panic (in varying degrees) at the revelation of a new species that far outweighs the Council, but the professionals on top would/should be more than capable of controlling themselves and using their heads instead of grabbing the idiot ball. There's not much they can do of course, apart from making sure the empire doesn't get an inclination to crush them like a bug _while_ saving the Council as much face as possible. And of course catching up in the long-term…

Baroness Galatea von Westfalen…she's the daughter of Annerose and Reinhard's (and Kircheis') friend, Baroness Magdalena von Westfalen. Yes, she's an OC.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Chapter 7

 _Planet Heinessen, Heinessenpolis, New Government House_

On the morning of August 28, Universal Calendar 814, New Imperial Calendar 16, a press conference was called by the Heinessen Autonomous Government. The press conference was to give an official statement by the HAG with regards to the Imperial proclamation by Dowager Empress Hildegard von Lohengramm during the previous day, on the election and convening of a National Assembly for the drafting of a charter for the empire.

"Firstly…" HAG Governing Council Chairwoman Frederica Greenhill-Yang began after ascending the podium. "…we of the Heinessen Autonomous Government express our thanks to Her Majesty, in recognition of her continued pursuit of good governance for the citizens of the Galactic Empire. We would also express our thanks to Her Imperial Majesty for her recent decision to follow up on the Interstellar Government Act, with the upcoming election of a National Assembly for the purpose of drafting a charter for the Galactic Empire."

Frederica paused. "We of the Heinessen Autonomous Government reiterate our ideal of giving the common man a voice in his governance." She said. "We reiterate our ideal of the rights of the individual. However we also acknowledge that monarchical rule is not necessarily contradictory to these ideals. The Interstellar Governance Act is proof of this, as are various constitutional monarchies from the pages of Human history. As such, we laud the upcoming National Assembly as a commendable step towards bridging the gap between the ruler and the ruled, and ensuring the long-term stability of the Galactic Empire."

Frederica paused again, letting her eyes sweep over the gathered media personnel before her. "We of the Heinessen Autonomous Government are not included within the scope of the Interstellar Governance Act." She said. "However through the office of His Excellency, the Imperial Consul Richard Klaus, we have been invited to participate in the upcoming National Assembly."

"We therefore thank Her Majesty for giving us the opportunity to have our voices…" Frederica continued. "…the voices of the last stronghold of republican democracy in known space to be heard alongside the voices of the rest of His Majesty's subjects, and we graciously accept this opportunity. We express our hopes for peaceful dialogue and compromise come February, and through the National Assembly succeed in drafting the basic law of the realm, and give all, from His Majesty down to his lowest subject, their due within the Galactic Empire."

Frederica bowed, and the newsmen applauded the conclusion of her speech. Frederica straightened, and as the applause died down began accepting questions from the media.

"Your Excellency…" one newswoman asked. "…have any details of the upcoming general elections – beyond the current scope of the IGA – been announced by the Imperial government…?"

Frederica briefly considered. "While we have no official confirmation by the Imperial government…" she said. "…we have indications that in light of His Majesty's minority, Her Majesty as the Imperial Regent will be presiding over the National Assembly, as Imperial head-of-state. Furthermore, the number of representatives per starzone will be based on population values, and majority vote within the assembly will be followed in the drafting and signing of the charter. However as I said these are merely indications, and the details will be announced within the week by the Imperial Ministry of State."

"No further questions Your Excellency." The newswoman said, and Frederica selected another reporter.

"Your Excellency…" the man began. "…with regards to our participation in the National Assembly, would it not be contrary to the interests of republican democracy to participate in the drafting of a constitution not for a democratic republic, but a monarchy?"

"It certainly seems that way yes." Frederica agreed. "However democracy is not limited to a republican government. It is rule by the majority. And if the majority of the empire's citizens supported the continued existence of the empire as a constitutional monarchy, then we as followers of democracy must respect their decision. Ultimately however, between republicanism and democracy, it is the latter, the spirit of a government as opposed to its form that is most important. Even if democracy triumphs in the form of constitutional monarchy as opposed to a republic, then is not our ideal of government by, for, and through the people realized regardless?"

"However…" the reporter persisted. "…as you said we are last stronghold of republican democracy. Would this not be considered as shameful surrender?"

"I do not see anything shameful in gaining an audible voice in the Imperial government." Frederica replied neutrally. "Keep in mind that as per the Treaty of Ba'alat following the end of the First Alliance-Imperial War, and again in the Fezzan Accords with the late Emperor Reinhard von Lohengramm, we are an Imperial subject state given autonomy. The purpose of that latter agreement in particular was to serve as an example to the empire of the resilience of the spirit and promise of democracy. It has borne fruit: federal autonomy is now a reality in the empire, as is democracy at the local level. And soon, democracy will soon become reality at the national level."

"Are you saying then that republicanism is worth sacrificing for democracy's sake?" the newsman asked with a smile.

"Would you say then that democracy is less important than republicanism?" Frederica asked, and the man's smile fell. "Keep in mind that it was the sacrificing of democratic ideals in favour of preserving a republican façade that led to the downfall of the Free Planets Alliance."

"No further questions Your Excellency." The chastised reporter said, sitting down as Frederica chose yet another reporter.

"Your Excellency…" he began. "…will you be running for a seat in the upcoming National Assembly?" he asked.

"Most likely not…" Frederica replied. "…as a serving member of the governing council, I will most likely be ineligible to stand for election. And while I may resign to run for a seat, I personally see such a course of action as both a dereliction of duty in my current capacity as an elected official, as well as obviously self-interested."

"No further questions."

"Last question…" Frederica said as she selected another reporter.

"Your Excellency…" the man said. "…might we have an indication to the future of the HAG after the drafting of the Imperial Charter?"

"Assumptions are a dangerous thing." Frederica said. "However I can and will give an answer, though I will stress: it is _not_ the official statement of the HAG on the matter. Such will have to await formal discussion and decision-making by the governing council. Personally, once the Imperial Charter is drafted, signed, and ratified, and we gain at least an acceptable degree of say in the Imperial government, then I believe a show of solidarity by surrender of greater autonomy on our part for lesser autonomy on par with those enjoyed by other Imperial starzones under the IGA, would better serve our citizens."

Frederica briefly closed her eyes as more questions and calls for her attention came from the audience, and then with a bow left the room with her bodyguards.

* * *

"Take care of yourself." Hilda said with a smile. "Don't stay up too late, do your homework, and don't cause trouble for your grandfather."

"Mother…" Alex said with a note of exasperation, and Hilda and Count Franz von Mariendorf laughed.

"Now, now Hilda…" he said. "…it's the nature of boys to be troublesome. I remember when I was at that age…"

"Father…!" Hilda protested, and this time it was Alex's turn to laugh with his grandfather.

"I understand, mother." He said. "I won't cause trouble, either for myself or my grandfather. And besides, Felix is here to keep me out of trouble and Galatea too."

"I'm not so sure about Galatea…" Baroness Magdalena von Westfalen remarked while hiding behind her fan her smile at her daughter's veiled scowl. "…oops, slip of the tongue."

Felix snickered, only to quiet up at his father's cough. "Boys and girls will be boys and girls…" retired Fleet Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeier remarked. "…still I trust the palace will still be standing when we get back?"

"Wolf…!" Evangeline protested, and this time it was Mittermeier's turn to get flustered. "It'll be alright, Count Mariendorf and I will keep an eye on the three of them. Let them enjoy being young, they'll grow up soon enough."

"Yes, yes…"

Alex nodded at that, and stepped forward before Fleet Admiral Neidhart Muller, who would be escorting his mother and her party to Shanxi for the signing of the peace treaty. "Then Fleet Admiral Muller…" he said formally. "…I entrust the safety of the Dowager Empress and Imperial Regent to your care."

Muller bowed. "So I swear Your Majesty…" he said. "…with great god Odin as my witness, and my fallen comrades in Valhalla, that I, Iron Shield Muller shall ensure the Dowager Empress and her party's safe arrival at their destination, and their safe return to the Imperial Capital."

Alex nodded, and turned towards his mother. "Well then, Dowager Empress…" he said, and Hilda nodded.

"We take our leave of you, Your Majesty." She said, and with a bow departed followed by Mittermeier, Baroness Westfalen, and others of their party along with an escort from the Imperial Court Guards. The Emperor stared after them, and after a moment Baroness Galatea von Westfalen stepped up beside him, and quietly took his hand in hers.

The Emperor glanced at her, and then back at his mother.

 _Odin watch over you mother._

* * *

The Muller Fleet, numbering twenty thousand ships, undertook a month-long trip from Imperial Capital Fezzan to the planet Shanxi along the Sagittarius Frontier. In that time, the Imperial Regent coordinated via hyperspace communications with the Minister of State back on Odin, and with the diplomats on Shanxi.

Among developments arranged during the trip included the releasing of injured Turian personnel ahead of the peace treaty's signing, as well as reception of fresh food supplies for Turians still being kept prisoner by the Imperial Fleet on Shanxi. Finally on September 27th, Universal Calendar 814, New Imperial Calendar 16, Dowager Empress Hildegard von Lohengramm arrived on Shanxi.

Red banners waved and golden lions flew over a sea of black, as the mighty warships of the Muller Fleet flew over the landing grounds. The flagship _Perceval_ , its polished hull flashing with afternoon light, landed with a gentleness belied by its great size. A cheer arose from the gathered Imperial soldiers, held back by MPs from the aisle, as the boarding ramp extended out from the flagship.

Much like with her husband over a decade ago when he arrived at Fezzan as a 'mere' prince, no orders had been issued for the soldiers to assemble. Instead they had gathered on their own accord to greet the one who had continued _their_ Emperor's work and made the empire truly something to be proud of.

The cheers rose in crescendo as the Imperial Court Guards filed out, resplendent in berets, red sashes, and gold epaulettes. And as the Dowager Empress and her party appeared, they exploded.

" _ **HOCH LEBE DIE KAISERIN!**_ " the shouts thundered into the air. " _ **HOCH LEBE DIE KAISERIN! HOCH LEBE DIE KAISERIN HILDEGARD!**_ "

Hilda smiled and waved as she descended down the ramp and down the aisle to where staff cars were waiting for her and her party to the provisional government buildings. "A number of Turians were present in the welcome party." Mittermeier observed. "Bittenfeld's idea, I suppose, to awe them with our might. But I can't help but wonder if this might provoke them instead."

"From what I hear…" Muller put in. "…it was actually the highest-ranking Turian officer, General Arterius' idea. Apparently, he wanted a show of respect to the victors who had proven gracious in victory."

"Is that so?" Mittermeier remarked, and Muller nodded. "Now that you mention it, the general was the one who surrendered, didn't he?'

"Yes." Muller said with a nod. "Outnumbered and overrun, he chose to take on the shame of surrender to save as many of his men's lives as he could."

"He cares for his men over his own reputation." Mittermeier said. "Unfortunately from what we know of his culture, he won't be getting any recognition for it. At best the matter would be swept under the carpet, at worst he'd get demoted and assigned a dead end post."

"That certainly seems to be the case." Muller agreed.

* * *

The room where the treaty would be signed was filled with news and diplomatic personnel from both the empire and the Council. At the front of the room was a wide table, on either end of which rested two leather-bound folders, one blue with the emblem of the Citadel Council worked in silver, while the other was red with the lion of the Lohengramm Dynasty worked in gold. On the wall behind the table were two flags, reflecting the colours and insignias on the treaty documents.

A hush fell in the room as the concerned parties entered simultaneously from two sides of the room. Empress Hilda, wearing a blue and grey dress in a business-cut under a gold-collared cloak of white, made for the table while her entourage stood at attention behind her.

On the other side of the room, the Council's representatives did likewise, though it would not be Matriarch Niala who would be signing the treaty. Neither the Council nor the Asari Republics were at war with the empire after all, and as such Turian Ambassador Samorius would be signing the treaty.

The Dowager Empress and the ambassador opened their respective folders, and taking their pens put their names to the documents that would end the First Contact War. Hilda could have sent a representative or have one of the Imperial diplomats who had initially been sent to Shanxi sign in her place, but in preparation for the upcoming National Assembly decided to come and sign the treaty in person. This was to set a precedent for a certain executive authority that she intended to enshrine within the position of the monarch as head-of-state through the Imperial Charter.

Once the documents were signed, the two leaders closed the folders and setting aside their pens, stepped around the table. They exchanged the treaty documents, Ambassador Samorius taking the Imperial folder while Hilda took the Turian one, and then shook hands.

Lights flashed as news personnel took pictures of the historic moment, and then the two leaders separated.

* * *

The post-signing reception was in full swing, diplomats and others mingling and chatting across the room. General Desolas Arterius watched through the wide, bullet-proof glass windows at the shuttles that periodically took the rest of his men back to orbit, and aboard transports waiting to take them back home.

Home…Desolas knew and felt scant comfort in coming home. He didn't regret doing what he did, and he knew that his soldiers would stand by his decision, given that it saved most of them their lives. For the most part…some, like his brother Saren (and the thought sent a tremor of dismay through the general), were of the opinion that he – Desolas – should have fought to the last man as opposed to what they saw as cowardice.

And Desolas knew that many in the hierarchy would feel the same way. He'd probably be facing a demotion, perhaps even dismissal from the military. Failing that, he'd probably be assigned a dead end post at Hierarchy Command, or colonial guard duty on the frontier.

He snorted at the thought. " _Guard duty on the frontier…_ " he thought as he stared out to the gleaming bulk of the _Perceval_ in the starlight. " _…waiting for pirates and slavers to come and try their luck…I don't mind. Compared to this disaster, protecting frontier settlers would be an honour._ "

The general found himself smiling at the irony. The smile faded as he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned. He saluted as he found himself facing three men. One of them he recognized: Fleet Admiral Bittenfeld.

Of the other two, one wore an identical uniform to Bittenfeld, only with a white cape instead of a black one, a tall Human male with platinum-blonde hair. The other was stocky Human of average height, with blonde hair and dressed in civilian attire, but with a military bearing…a retired officer perhaps.

"General Arterius…" Bittenfeld said. "…my apologies for disturbing your reverie, but allow me to introduce my comrades. First of all, I'd like to introduce the Imperial Fleet Chief of Staff, Fleet Admiral Neidhart Muller."

"Muller…?" Desolas echoed. "Ah, now I remember. The hero of Vermillion, as I recall, which led to you becoming known as the Iron Shield. It's an honour, admiral."

"Vermillion, eh…?" Muller said, glancing at Bittenfeld. "It seems someone's been talking. I don't particularly see that battle as a victory though, since in the end I was unable to keep Yang Wen-li from getting close to the flagship _Brunhild_ a second time."

"But…" Mittermeier put in. "…if you hadn't arrived when you did, and continued the battle from battleship to battleship, Reuenthal and myself wouldn't have had the chance to reach Heinessen and win the war. The name of Iron Shield is well-earned, Muller."

Muller chuckled. "Yes…" he said. "…I suppose so."

"I would guess then…" Desolas said. "…that you are the Gale Wolf, retired Fleet Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeier. Once again, it's an honour admiral."

"The honour is mine." Mittermeier said, offering his hand which Desolas took. "Few soldiers would surrender or retreat when those are their only choices."

"I appreciate the compliment admiral…" Desolas said. "…but I only did what I did to save the lives of my men."

"That's also praiseworthy in itself." Mittermeier said with a smile. "Most would place their reputation over the lives under their command."

"Unfortunately true…" Desolas agreed, the other Imperial officers nodding their agreement.

"And I would guess…" Muller began. "…at the risk of seeming presumptuous, that your government would disagree with your decision."

Desolas snorted. "I'd probably end up with a desk job at Hierarchy Command…" he said. "…or frontier duty…though it's not like the last role is a particularly dishonourable one. Invasion aside, there are plenty of other threats on the frontier, such as pirates and slavers. As your garrison here demonstrated, protecting one's citizens is something worthy of respect."

"That it is…" Bittenfeld agreed. "…no doubt some of the armchair admirals and generals who'd be looking down on you would probably point out that the regiment here fought to the end where you surrendered, however…! Rodriguez and his men were only outnumbered five thousand to one thousand, and help was on the way. You on the other hand, and I do not in any way mean to insult you, were up against five hundred thousand. There's a whole world of difference in the tactical situation!"

"Calm down Bittenfeld…" Mittermeier said with mixed amusement and exasperation. "…honestly, you've mellowed out a lot, but in many ways you're still the same from back then."

"I'm not surprised." Muller remarked. "Didn't you once say that in the Bittenfeld family, it's a tradition that when complimenting or insulting someone it should be done as loudly as possible?"

"Oh you remembered that?"

"Of course I did."

There were laughs at that, including from Desolas, even though the general didn't understand the full context behind the joke. "Nevertheless…" he eventually said. "…while I understand your sympathies gentlemen, I must bow before the authority of the board of inquiry that most likely awaits my return to the hierarchy. Soldiers must take responsibility after all, each due to their station and actions."

The Humans glanced at each other, but there was nothing that they could say. "I would however…" the general said. "…extend my compliments towards the bravery of the garrison, both the fallen and the survivors. Against overwhelming odds, they held out until help arrived, and fulfilled their duty."

"The fallen are all to be presented the Shanxi Campaign Medal of Honour…" Muller said. "…and will be promoted posthumously by two ranks. The survivors are promoted by one rank, and will also be awarded the Shanxi Campaign Medal of Honour. Captain Rodriguez is to be promoted posthumously to Rear Admiral, and will also be posthumously awarded the Order of the Valkyrie along with the Shanxi Campaign Medal of Honour."

"The Order of the Valkyrie…?" Desolas echoed.

"It's an order of distinction." Mittermeier replied. "The highest short of the Order of the Golden Lion and the now-defunct Order of the Silver Eagle, equal to the Order of the Iron Eagle. Where the Iron Eagle is awarded for outstanding civil service, the Valkyrie is awarded for outstanding military service. All who reach the rank of fleet admiral are automatically awarded the order, whose grand master is the Emperor himself."

"Ah I see." Desolas said. "I would agree that the good captain, forgive me _rear admiral_ , deserves such distinction. A single regiment holding out against an entire legion is something that hasn't happened since the Krogan Rebellions."

"The Dowager Empress is of the same opinion." Muller confirmed, and Bittenfeld snorted.

"I would think so." He said, and eyes turned to where the Hilda was holding court with a number of diplomats.

"So…" Matriarch Niala asked Hilda. "…where do you see the relationship between the empire and the Council going in the future, Your Majesty?"

Matriarch Niala wasn't at all unfamiliar with the empire's hierarchy, given that the Batarian Hegemony's caste society was quite similar to the empire's own distinction between the nobility and commoners. To an extent: the empire under the Goldenbaum Dynasty might have practiced neo-feudalism, but they never actually sank to the level of actually practicing slavery.

 _Though the empire's now-defunct eugenics program, since halted by Emperor Maximilian Josef the Seer long before it was formally abolished by then-Prince Reinhard von Lohengramm, came close to matching the brutality of the hegemony's practice of slavery._

" _On the other hand though…_ " the matriarch thought. " _…if it was still in force, the Council_ _ **might**_ _be able to use it as diplomatic ammunition against the empire. That's unlikely though. Eugenics isn't exactly illegal in Citadel Space, unlike slavery, and even if it were as long the empire did token work to cover it up the Council would look the other way rather than stir up trouble._ "

"In the short-term…" Hilda replied. "…we'll seek peaceful coexistence and trade, though the latter will have to be discussed later on before it can be formalized. And that will have to wait until after the…difficulties resulting from the Long War are at least in part, resolved."

"And in the long-term…?"

Hilda smiled. "I would not presume to predict my son's course when he attains his majority." She said. "Apart from that I know he will seek the empire's best interests."

"I see." The matriarch said, though inwardly it was clear to her that the empire's leaders, both the current generation and the next, wanted to see the empire stand on its own apart from the rest of the galaxy. This was far from ideal, both as far as the Asari _and_ the Council's interests were concerned.

 _On the other hand, the Humans are like most species, short-lived. Their perceptions are coloured as such. As we have always done, we will patiently work on the future, and as we have always done, we will emerge the stronger for it._

* * *

There was a knock on the door, and Alex turned away from the window and the telescope. "Enter…" he said, and the door opened to allow Count Mariendorf to hobble in on his cane. "…grandfather…?"

Count Mariendorf nodded with a smile. "We've received word from Shanxi." He said. "Your mother's arrival was without incident, as was the signing of the peace treaty."

"I see." Alex said, looking back out to the stars. Count Mariendorf stayed silent, but Baroness Galatea von Westfalen got up from where she was playing with her cat and walked up to her fiancé.

"What's on your mind, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"Problems…" he replied unaware of how he and his words at that moment resembled his father's in the aftermath of the Fourth Battle of Tiamat. Not that any could know: the only ones who knew, his father and his friend Siegfried Kircheis were both dead. "…I have had three problems ever since I was old enough to understand my current and eventual role. The first is how I deal with the empire. The second is the legacy of my family. The third is my friends. All of them are connected with each other."

The thirteen year-old Emperor turned his head, cold blue eyes that so resembled his father's gazing first into Galatea's and then into Count Mariendorf's eyes. Then they turned back to what stars could be seen through the haze of light that the New Imperial City threw into the skies of Fezzan. "And now a fourth problem has appeared, connected to the first." He said. "How I deal with the greater galaxy."

"Alex…" Galatea murmured, but said nothing more. And then Count Mariendorf stepped forward, and placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"I offer you any and all support you need, Alexander." Count Mariendorf said. "But even all my experience as head of the Mariendorf family, and even as Minister of State under your father is not enough for me to begin understanding the burden you bear. However…"

The count paused and smiled. "I can offer you one piece of advice." He said. "Whether or not you can rule the universe, is entirely up to you, Alexander."

"Grandfather…"

With another pat on the shoulder, the count left the Emperor and the baroness alone. Alex looked at the baroness, and as their hands met and entwined with each other, he looked back to the stars.

" _Father…_ " Alex thought as he raised his free hand to grasp at the stars. " _…it seems that just like you, I too have a universe to conquer._ "

* * *

A/N

The first part was a bitch to write, and I hope I managed to capture the political spirit so close to the heart of LoGH, given I'm not Yoshiki Tanaka nor do I have a degree in political science. Hopefully I managed to get the point across as to _why_ the HAG should participate in the National Assembly, and why there's a heavy implication that if the empire does get a constitution the HAG will fold back into the empire.

I understand that not all republicans will be happy compromising republicanism for democracy's sake, though I don't intend to show the consequences of that until the sequel. No spoilers…

Up next is the epilogue, and then I'm taking a break to draw up plans for _The Lion Unleashed_ , which jumps forward to the equivalent point in this TL where ME takes place.


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own either or both Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Mass Effect. They are owned by Yoshiki Tanaka and Bioware respectively.

The Lion Awakens

Epilogue

 _Planet Fezzan, New Imperial City, Provisional Galactic Parliament Chambers_

On February 07th, Universal Calendar 815, New Imperial Calendar 17, the first National Assembly of the New Galactic Empire convened on Imperial Capital Fezzan. From the hundreds of Imperial starzones came nearly a thousand AMs (Assembly Members), the starzones having been divided into three categories based on population size, to determine how many AMs each would be entitled to elect.

The first category was comprised of the least populated starzones, entitled to four AMs. Examples of such starzones included the frontier starzones, the starzones within the Iserlohn Corridor, and the Fezzan Corridor. Most starzones would however fall into the second category, comprised of starzones with the average standard population density. These were entitled to six AMs. The third category was the smallest, composed of starzones with greater than standard population density. Two examples of starzones in this category were the Valhalla and Ba'alat Starzones, and were entitled to eight AMs.

Thunderous applause filled the chamber as the gathered AMs applauded the arrival of the Dowager Empress. The Empress threw a small smile and nod in their direction, ascending the podium as the applause died down, and the AMs took their seats.

"Honoured members of the National Assembly…" Hilda began, her eyes sweeping across the gathering around the chamber. "…I thank you all for coming today, and attending the convening of our empire's first National Assembly."

She paused as applause again filled the chamber, continuing as it died down. "It is my hope that in the following months…" she said. "…we will set an example for future generations to follow, all the while laying down the foundations for true peace and unity for Humanity."

Again, Hilda paused as applause filled the chamber. "As things stand…" she eventually continued. "…Humanity is divided between two ideological extremes: autocracy and democracy. This division is further exacerbated by recent hostilities between the two halves of Humanity, and one which we have only recently emerged from. We have done much to bridge this gap: the reforms of my late husband, His Majesty Reinhard the First, the establishment of the Heinessen Autonomous Government, the implementation of the Interstellar Government Act, and most recently, this National Assembly of ours. We have come a long way to truly reunifying Humanity, but we still have much further to go. But though the road is long and hard, the destination is worth struggling for: peace and prosperity for all, under the banner of the Galactic Empire."

Applause again filled the chambers, though for the republicans it was tinged with a hint of bitterness. They knew after all, that the empire would retain the monarchy, and perhaps even the nobility, as a price for democracy and constitutionalism. As with all political matters, it was a matter of compromise.

Still, even if they didn't like it, such was the nature of democracy: compromise to find a common ground or all the majority could agree on.

If republicanism was worth giving up to graft democracy to the empire, shearing away as much political power from the nobility and from the Emperor, then it was a worthy sacrifice for the rights and voice of the people. Their more extreme colleagues (a few of whom had been elected into the assembly as well) would not be pleased, but most republicans or as they were starting to think of themselves _reformers_ or _centrists_ had had enough of extreme republicanism, having seen what it had cost the former Free Planets Alliance.

A constitutional monarchy would do fine as a new beginning.

"Autocracy is rule by one." Hilda said. "It concentrates any and all political power in a single person, the autocrat wielding it for the best of the state as he or she sees it. Its strength lies in its decisive nature, allowing for quick and effective action as tasks and challenges present themselves. However autocrats are also Humans, with all too-Human weaknesses. The history of the Goldenbaum Dynasty proves this, with the names of such great figures such as Maximilian Josef the Seer and Otto-Fried II standing alongside tyrants such as Rudolf the Terrible and August the Blood-letter."

Hilda paused, again sweeping her eyes over the assembly. "By contrast democracy is rule by the many." She said. "Political power is shared by the body politic, who entrust their governance to those they believe know their interests best. Its strength lies in its redundancy: with no single man or woman holding too much power, the consequences of any failings would never reach the same depths as those of a tyrant coming to power in an autocracy."

Nods and murmurs filled the chamber, and Hilda paused briefly before continuing. "However as with autocracy democracy too has its weakness." she said. "In democracy's case, its decentralized nature renders it slow and sluggish to respond where swift and drastic action is needed."

Again, murmurs and whispers echoed across the chamber and Hilda paused once more before continuing. "Some would say that autocracy and democracy are contradictory ideologies, and may never be reconciled." She said. "However I would disagree. I would say that they are _contrary_ ideologies, and common ground may be found between them."

Hilda swept her eyes across the assembly once more. "Honoured members of the National Assembly…" she said. "…today I open the first National Assembly of our New Galactic Empire. Today, I declare my ideal for the New Galactic Empire: a unified nation, wherein the purpose and direction of autocracy is guided and tempered by the voice of democracy!"

Slow, thunderous applause began to build, the Empress continuing regardless. "Some would ask if this ideal is not naïve and fantastic." She said. "And yet over a decade ago the idea of an elected assembly gathered to draft a charter for our empire would seem equally fantastic. And yet here we are: the representatives of the people standing as one with the autocratic regent, working together to build a future for all of Humanity. Honoured members of the assembly, shall we not seek peaceful dialogue and compromise, and find a common path to the future together?"

Hilda paused, sweeping her eyes across the applauding AMs before smiling. "Let us work together…" she said slowly. "…and prosper together, in our New Galactic Empire."

The National Assembly rose as one to applaud the Dowager Empress even louder, Hilda stepping back from the podium with a smile and raising a hand in acknowledgement.

* * *

 _Citadel Space, the Serpent Nebula, the Citadel_

In a darkened room, three shadowed figures watched holographic monitors displaying events across the galaxy. On one monitor, it showed a riot on Palaven, as supporters of the pro-war primarchs engaged supporters of the anti-war primarchs, and Turian riot police hammering the rioters back.

The pro-war faction and their supporters had vilified General Arterius for his cowardly surrender to a 'rogue state' like the Galactic Empire, and the Council for giving in (and forcing the hierarchy to as well) to the Humans' demands. The peace faction however praised the general for saving as many of his men as he could, and praised the Council and the primarchs for making peace with the Galactic Empire, which was praised for its honourable conduct on and off the battlefield.

Three other monitors showed peaceful demonstrations taking place on Thessia, on the Citadel, and on another Asari world. The demonstrations praised the Council for 'supreme statesmanship' in averting war with a fellow advanced civilization, and alternately praising the empire for 'continuing along the path of reform' and expressing dismay on the empire's apparent 'isolationism'.

Another monitor showed a Batarian nobleman on Batarian state television bombastically declaring the hegemony's past laurels, and delivering implicit threats without naming a subject, on what would happen should the hegemony's sovereignty not be respected.

"The Council's decision was correct." One of the spectres said. "A war with the empire would only end with our destruction. There is no possible way that a conflict could have been limited for long solely between the hierarchy and the empire. Sooner or later we'd have been dragged into it."

"As much as it pains me to admit it…" the second spectre said. "…you are right. At best the hierarchy would have lasted for a year before our fleets are reduced to dust. Our industry and our technology base just aren't suited for the kind of mass production the empire is capable of."

"There is still the WMD option." the third spectre said. "On one hand that is precisely the reason we keep the damn things: a last resort when all else fails. On the other hand, it might be wise to assume that the empire's WMD capability would match their vast fleets and armies. If that's the case…"

"An exchange in WMDs would still end at worst with our annihilation and at best mutual annihilation." The first spectre said. "Are we agreed then, that the Council made the right decision?"

The other spectres nodded, completing the agreement between the three most senior spectres still in active service in the galaxy. "This is an opportunity though." The Asari spectre said. "The appearance of the Humans on the galactic stage has demonstrated just how _limited_ our technology is. Well we've always known that compared to the Proteans, who built the Citadel and the relays, but it's only now that it's been actually been driven home."

"A lesson to be learned…" the Salarian spectre said with a nod. "…and another one: the galaxy is _vast_. We've always assumed the Proteans to be _the_ galactic power of their age, but what if they weren't? What if for all their power, they too were simply _another_ spacefaring civilization?"

"And where are there now?" the Turian spectre asked ominously. "They left nothing behind, except ruins, the relays, and the Citadel. Did a pandemic wipe them out? Did they destroy themselves in civil war? Or were they destroyed by another race, which they took with them to the grave? Could the empire be to us what that unknown race was to the Proteans?"

"I think we can safely rule out the possibility of a pandemic…" the Asari began, only to be interrupted by the Salarian.

"Unwise…" he said. "…we cannot assume that advanced medical technology is infallible. Even today certain diseases remain incurable, just as they were before we reached spacefaring status. Also, we assumed that only Element Zero-based FTL is possible. Human warp technology proved that to be false."

The Asari nodded. "I see your point." She said. "Perhaps one of those persistent diseases mutated into something lethal and beyond the Proteans' ability to cope with on short notice, having grown comfortable in their assumed medical infallibility. Just as we assumed that Element Zero-based FTL is the only possible means of FTL. I see…we should review as many commonly-accepted assumptions as needed in light of the Humans' coming and advice our governments to do likewise."

"The STG has already begun as such." The Salarian spectre said, and the Turian snorted.

"I'm not surprised." He said. "Then again Hierarchy Command is already organizing a research project for energy weapons and new ship design research. I imagine the union is already doing so?"

The Salarian merely nodded, and the other spectres nodded back. "The republics…" the Asari spectre said with a note of disappointment. "…or rather the matriarchs are still discussing matters. I don't doubt though that in the future, similar efforts will be made."

"Going back to the earlier topic…" the Turian said. "…you mentioned this was an opportunity? How so…?"

"As I said, relative to the Humans we see now just how limited we are." The Asari spectre replied. "And not just in terms of how we're outclassed by the Humans: we're limited in the sense that we simply _copied_ what the Proteans did before us, instead of achieving something truly our own."

"I see." The Turian said slowly. "Incentive…we now have incentive to not only simply study and replicate the Proteans' technology, but to develop in new ways, if only to catch-up with the Humans."

"It will be difficult and time-consuming." The Salarian spectre said. "Expensive too: it's likely we'll have to move beyond our Element Zero base to achieve our goal, and considering how we've made Element Zero the foundation of our economy…"

"Nothing of great value has ever been achieved without great effort." The Asari spectre said, and her colleagues nodded.

"Yes of course…" the Salarian spectre said. "…still, that's a matter for our governments and economic experts to focus on. The first steps have been made, at least on the part of the union and the hierarchy. Two is better than none."

"I agree."

"As do I…"

"Good…" the Salarian spectre said, tapping on holographic controls. "…now that we've reached a conclusion, we are agreed that we should recommend the Council to have us and our colleagues to keep an eye out for extremist elements who may wish to provoke the Humans. The Batarians in particular, given their…extra-legal connections to fringe groups in the Terminus could prove…troublesome."

"I see no problems with that." The Asari spectre said.

"I agree." The Turian spectre said. "Though off the record, I wouldn't mind if the Humans gave the Batarians a good slapping down. I _hate_ slavers."

"An understandable sentiment…" the Salarian spectre said. "…but the Batarians are still a Council associate. The possibility of the Council getting dragged into an initially-limited war between the hegemony and the empire is smaller compared to a war with any of the Council races, but still…"

"I see your point."

"Very well…" the Salarian spectre said, looking at his fellows. "…before we adjourn, I have one further matter to bring up."

"And what might that be?" the Asari spectre asked. In response, the Salarian spectre tapped one of the holographic controls hovering before him, and a small file and image of a Turian male appeared before him.

"His name is Garrus Vakarian." The Salarian spectre said. "He's young and inexperienced, but according to his profile as an officer candidate he's got a head for unorthodox but effective tactics. Also, during the recent hostilities with the empire, he apparently expressed concern over the late Admiral Lucius' decision to engage in a war of aggression."

"You wish to recruit him as a potential spectre?" the Asari spectre asked.

"Not yet…" the Salarian spectre said. "…but I'd like to keep an eye on him just in case. He has potential…"

* * *

On August 02nd, Universal Calendar 816, New Imperial Calendar 18, Dowager Empress and Imperial Regent Hildegard von Lohengramm placed her signature to the Imperial Charter after the signatures of the members of the first National Assembly.

The Imperial Charter guaranteed constitutional government, the existence of the monarchy and the nobility, federal autonomy, a bill of rights for all citizens, universal suffrage, and a separation of powers between executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It also detailed procedures on amending the constitution, and the removal of officials from office. However there were many compromises included in the charter, including the establishment of a bilateral legislature as opposed to a unicameral legislature favoured by many republicans.

First, the elected National Assembly would become the lower house of the Galactic Parliament, representing the will of the empire's citizens. However it would be balanced by the upper house of parliament, the Federal Council. The Federal Council would have authority to delay legislation among other powers, and would be composed of appointed councillors from the regional governments to ensure that individual starzones would not have their interests unduly compromised in favour of the greater empire. The three electoral categories for the National Assembly would also be applied to the number of councillors, though the council would be smaller than the assembly. The first category would be entitled to two councillors, the second category to three councillors, and the third category four councillors.

However it was the executive branch of the Imperial government that was most controversial, passing only by narrow votes within the assembly thanks to support from Orion politicians. In particular the Imperial Chancellor still remained an Imperial appointee (a required appointment from this point onwards), and he and his cabinet members would be responsible to the Emperor, and not to parliament. The Emperor also shared absolute veto authority over parliament with the Imperial Chancellor, and possessed the authority to summarily dismiss government officials with 'just cause'. Furthermore the Emperor reserved the right to declare war, although wars of aggression would require parliamentary ratification. Wars of defence though, could be declared without consultation with parliament. The Emperor also reserved the right to conclude agreements with foreign powers, though in this case parliamentary ratification was needed for said agreements to be legal and binding.

The Emperor also reserved the right to name members of the nobility (though the bill of rights in the Imperial Charter implicitly forbade 'noble privileges' as had existed during the Goldenbaum Dynasty), the right to grant pardon, and most controversially the right to implement laws without parliamentary consent. The Emperor may also convene parliament at will, though he was required to do so once per year during February. He also held the right to dissolve parliament, though in such a case a general election (normally held every five years) must be held within a month's time. Furthermore as head-of-state the Emperor had a whole host of implicit authority in addition to the explicit authorities declared within the charter.

Another controversial aspect of the Imperial Charter was the Imperial Chancellor also doubling as the President of the Federal Council, as opposed to the council electing its own president as was the case with the National Assembly. Despite such controversies however, and despite many extreme republicans claiming to have been betrayed or misled, most would fall in line with the new constitution thanks to the urging of Assembly Member Julian Mintz.

Julian Mintz admitted the Imperial Charter _was_ flawed, and democracy _was_ limited, but it was _there_. He praised the inclusion of a bill of rights, the guarantee of universal suffrage and constitutional rule, and especially the establishment of an independent judiciary. Although the Imperial Chancellor reserved the right to appoint judges to regional courts, the Grand Court and the Court of Appeals (all lower court judges were appointed by the First Minister of their respective starzone), such appointments did not require Imperial confirmation as was the case with the cabinet and other chancellery appointments, and may only be appointed from those recognized as qualified to hold such a post by the Imperial Bar Council. The Grand Court was also reserved the right to interpret the Imperial Charter, a development praised by AM Mintz and his allies.

"…I recognize the flaws of the Imperial Charter." the AM said on live television. "However we have secured the rights of the individual. We have secured a voice in government. That we've achieved that much at this point is a victory in itself. From now on, we have the freedom to win more freedom."

"Too much freedom leads to the abandonment of morals." Baroness Galatea von Westfalen remarked. "It will lead to destruction. Have those republicans learned nothing from the history of the Galactic Federation and the Free Planets Alliance?"

"And that is why I don't intend to surrender _any_ of the controversial elements of my authority until I'm sure that those politicians in parliament, and most importantly, my subjects are ready to handle such power on their own." Alex said, turning the TV off and sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest. "Though I will have to eventually…absolute power is just as dangerous as complete freedom."

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." the baroness remarked.

"I don't intend to have my father look away in shame from Valhalla." The Emperor replied darkly, and Galatea glanced at him. At length she smiled, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That is entirely up to you, my dear Emperor."

"I know it is. I know."

In the three months leading to the general elections on November 11th of New Imperial Calendar 18, two major political parties were formed in addition to a whole host of minority parties, forming along lines laid out during the debates of the first National Assembly. Centrists and moderate right-wing politicians were consolidated under the banner of Zentrum, which would be elected as the dominant government party in the November general elections. The primary opposition party would be the Social Democratic Party, composed of moderate leftist politicians.

Other political parties formed at this time include the Nationalist Party, composed of hard right-wing politicians, the Imperial Communist Party (a naming which would have scholars and students alike groaning at the inherent contradiction), and the Democratic Party, composed of hard-core republicans.

On November 19th, New Imperial Calendar 18, former War Minister and retired Fleet Admiral Ernest Mecklinger was appointed the Imperial Chancellor. On November 20th, he presented his cabinet before the Imperial Regent and the Emperor.

 _As New Imperial Calendar 18 ends and New Imperial Calendar 19 begins, the pages of history continues to turn._

* * *

A/N

And there's a wrap. Yes I intended for this story to only cover the FCW. I'll be taking a break for a while, and then I'll move on to _The Lion Unleashed._

Yes, the Galactic Empire's charter is a carbon copy of the Imperial German Constitution. What can I say, apart from if the shoe fits…? Carbon copies galore…


	10. Update

Update

Good news my readers! _The Lion Awakens_ has been updated, or rather has received a sequel. _The Lion Unleashed_ is now up.


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